Rivero to sell part of his Metrovacesa stake

Metrovacesa's chairman Joaquin Rivero intends to reduce his holding in the Spanish property company, newspaper BolsaCinco has reported. Rivero raised his stake in the company to around 19% in September after launching a public offer for Metrovacesa in order to compete with the Sanahuja family, which is currently the largest shareholder.

In a statement, Rivero said he is going to sell the shares in March 2007, as he is forbidden under Spanish law to sell them in the six-month period following the bidding, and he added he has not yet decided the exact share volume he is going to sell, BolsaCinco said.

Rivero had disclosed he intended to sell the shares at the time he purchased them in a move to prevent the Sanahuja family from becoming the majority shareholder. The Sanahuja family recently raised its stake in Metrovacesa from 24% to a 39%. However, Rivero said the family cannot seek another seat on Metrovacesa’s board, since 'there are currently no vacancies'.