Joaquin Rivero, the majority shareholder in Gecina, said late on Tuesday that it has sold one million shares in the French company after a Paris court rejected his appeal against a ruling that he acted in concert with another Spanish shareholder to build up control of the company. The court decision will force Rivero to reduce his stake in Gecina or to launch a takeover bid for the company. Following the ruling, Rivero, via its investment firm Alteco, has his stake by 1.6% from 17.8% to 16.2%, selling shares to Nexgen at a price of EUR 87.85 per share.
Joaquin Rivero, the majority shareholder in Gecina, said late on Tuesday that it has sold one million shares in the French company after a Paris court rejected his appeal against a ruling that he acted in concert with another Spanish shareholder to build up control of the company. The court decision will force Rivero to reduce his stake in Gecina or to launch a takeover bid for the company. Following the ruling, Rivero, via its investment firm Alteco, has his stake by 1.6% from 17.8% to 16.2%, selling shares to Nexgen at a price of EUR 87.85 per share.
The French market regulator AMF ruled in December that Gecina chairman, Joaquim Rivero, and Bautista Soler, the company's second largest shareholder with a 15.3% stake, acted together illegally in to build up control of the company. The ruling by the Paris court and the French regulator will further delay the separation of Gecina from Spanish parent group Metrovacesa.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Rivero said he 'remains determined to ensure that the separation process can be seen through to completion as soon as possible.' Metrovacesa and Gecina's separation process has been halted by the AMF as this involves a share buyback that would take the two Spanish stakeholders above the threshold of 33%. The separation plan was created to end a battle within Metrovacesa between Rivero and Soler on one side and the Sanahuja family on the other.
