Four major international shareholders in French REIT Gecina have increased their stakes as Spanish majority owner Metrovacesa exits the €11 bn developer-investor.
Four major international shareholders in French REIT Gecina have increased their stakes as Spanish majority owner Metrovacesa exits the €11 bn developer-investor.
Norway's Norges Bank, France's Credit Agricole Assurances, US investor Blackstone and Canada's Ivanhoe Cambridge are each taking parts of Metrovacesa's 27% holding in Gecina in a deal valued at €1.55 bn.
Metrovacesa agreed to sell 16.8 million Gecina shares - its entire stake - at €92 a share. The value represents a 16% discount to Gecina's closing price of €110 on the day of the announcement and a 10% discount to its net asset value.
Gecina welcomed the agreement, saying it would 'make it possible to continue putting in place a new shareholding structure'. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of September.
Blackstone and Ivanhoe Cambridge already held 23.03% of Gecina after agreeing on a debt-for-equity swap earlier this year with former Gecina CEO Joaquin Rivero and ally Bautista Soler. They are now taking a further 6.92% in the company, taking the total holding to 29.95% - just under the 30% required by law to launch a full bid.
Credit Agricole Assurances already had an 8.56% stake and is taking a 4.68% interest. Norges Bank - which manages the giant Norges Pension Fund Global - is acquiring a 9% stake.
Metrovacesa was looking to sell the stake in a move to raise cash as it struggles with a massive debt pile. The company was taken over by creditors Santander, BBVA, Sabadell, Bankia and Popular in 2009.
Metrovacesa bought its Gecina stake for €89.75 per share in 2004.
Gecina owns, manages and develops property worth €10.8 bn at end-2013, 90% of which is located in the Paris region.
