Spanish real estate investor and asset manager Azora Altus has announced plans to go public in a move aimed at consolidating its subsidiaries and growth of its fund business which is targeted to reach €8 bn of assets under management by 2022.
Azora, which is also the manager of Spanish REIT Hispania, plans to raise around €700 mln in the public offering which will be dedicated to institutional investors.
Following the placing, the company will have a 50% free float, the company said in a statement.
Goldman Sachs International will be granted a right to subscribe for shares representing up to 10% of the offering.
Azora intends to use the net proceeds to fund the acquisition of attractive investment opportunities as well as to acquire 21.79% of Carey Value Added, an existing investment vehicle managed by Azora and focused on urban hotels, and to acquire the remaining 25% it does not already own in Azora Capital.
Founded in Madrid in 2003 by businessmen Fernando Gumuzio and Concha Osácar, Azora currently manages €4.4 bn of assets through eight investment vehicles. In the year ended December 31, 2017, Azora generated revenues of €77.6 mln and an EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of €37.4 mln.
'Azora’s primary only IPO represents another key milestone for us,' commented founding partner Concha Osácar. 'We believe we bring to the market a new and attractive business proposition which combines exposure to untapped real estate asset classes with the potential for double-digit target returns, with the leverage provided by a growing investment management business. The strengthening of our balance sheet will not change our DNA but rather strengthen it.'
