Spanish listed property company Metrovacesa said on Thursday it is considering the sale of its 26.8% interest in French office REIT Gecina.
Spanish listed property company Metrovacesa said on Thursday it is considering the sale of its 26.8% interest in French office REIT Gecina.
In a statement to Spain's stock market regulator CNMV, Metrovacesa said it has launched a 'strategic review of its €1.5 bn stake in Gecina which could eventually lead to a sale'.
Metrovacesa has been a major shareholder in Gecina since it bought into the company's share capital in 2005. The Madrid-based group is understood to be looking into a sale of its most valuable holding as part of efforts to deleverage the business.
Paris-based Gecina added in a separate statement that it has taken note of the decision and that its board of directors will be 'reviewing the new situation'.
The French property company has a market capitalization of around €5.5 bn and owns a €10.7 bn portfolio largely consisting of offices in and around Paris.
Other major shareholders in Gecina are Joaquin Rivero's Alteco Gestion y Promocion de Marcas (16% stake) and Victoria Soler's Mag-Import (15%). Rivero, who is Gecina's former chairman and CEO, and his partner Soler, filed for creditor protection in October last year following the collapse of refinancing talks with the creditor banks.
The two business partners had pledged their combined 31% stake in the Paris office real estate investment trust as collateral for loans that are currently 65%-owned by US group Blackstone and Canadian firm Ivanhoé Cambridge.
