RBS sells 19% stake in Spain's Colonial for €44m

Spanish group Villar Mir has acquired a 19.3% stake in the Barcelona-based property developer Inmobiliaria Colonial from the Royal Bank of Scotland for €1 a share, or a total of €44 mln.

The price reflects a nearly 15% discount to Colonial's share closing price on Tuesday.

Law firm Ashurst advised RBS on the sale, which represents the bank's entire stake in the Spanish developer.

Colonial, which has a market cap of around €285 mln, is due to ask shareholders to approve a €1 bn capital increase at a meeting next week. Earlier this month, the Spanish firm received commitments totaling €500 mln for the share issue from investors including Villar Mir and Grupo Santo Domingo.

Villar Mir proposed investing €300 mln through the capital hike, while Grupo Santo Domingo and Amura Capital each agreed to invest €100 mln, Colonial said. Following the deal, Villar Mir will be the largest shareholder in Colonial, with a stake of around 30%.

The commitments are subject to conditions including the refinancing of a syndicated loan that currently stands at €1.76 bn.