Manuel Jove, the founder and former owner of Spanish property group Fadesa Immobiliare, has acquired a 4.9% stake in Spanish lender Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) for an investment of EUR 3.2 bn. The acquisition makes Jove the largest single shareholder in BBVA, Spain's seoond-largest bank.
Manuel Jove, the founder and former owner of Spanish property group Fadesa Immobiliare, has acquired a 4.9% stake in Spanish lender Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) for an investment of EUR 3.2 bn. The acquisition makes Jove the largest single shareholder in BBVA, Spain's seoond-largest bank.
Jove said he has asked for authorisation from the Bank of Spain to increase his holding to 5%. BBVA reacted by saying it did not consider his investment as hostile. Jove's investment in BBVA would make him the second largest investor in BBVA behind Chase Nominees, which holds 5.7%.
Jove founded Fadesa in 1980 and sold his 54.6% stake in the company late last year to fellow Spanish property group Martinsa for about EUR 2.2 bn. Fadesa was quoted on the stock exchange in 2004.
Jove, who also owns 5% of Spanish utility Union Fenosa, is just one of a number of Spanish property developers who has invested in the country’s banks. Last month, Luis Portillo, chairman of Spanish property group Colonial, also announced he wanted to increase his holding in BBVA.