Metrovacesa, the Spanish commercial real estate giant, has indicated it is keen to acquire another French peer, according to media reports. The French market is very interesting and 'offers several good opportunities with respect to price compared with the Spanish market', Juan Carlos Calvo, head of Metrovacesa's French subsidiary Gecina, said during an interview with French newspaper Les Echos.
Metrovacesa, the Spanish commercial real estate giant, has indicated it is keen to acquire another French peer, according to media reports. The French market is very interesting and 'offers several good opportunities with respect to price compared with the Spanish market', Juan Carlos Calvo, head of Metrovacesa's French subsidiary Gecina, said during an interview with French newspaper Les Echos.
He specified that Metrovacesa has a preference for listed companies and said it would use Gecina as its vehicle for any takeover. Gecina is currently involved in the acquisition of a 40-hectare plot of land near Lille, northern France, for the construction of five properties of between 30,000 m2 and 80,000 m2. The project is due for completion in 2008.
Gecina has been a listed French real estate investment trust (SIIC) since 2003 and it is active in the offices, residential, logistics and hotel markets in France. It has real estate holdings of EUR 9.7 bn.
Metrovacesa's acquisition of Gecina in 2005 constituted one of the largest acquisitions in the property sector in Europe and is one of the largest-ever single cross border acquisitions made by a Spanish company.
Meanwhile, Riofisa, another Spanish property company, has indicated it is also looking at the French market. Riofisa's ceo Mario Losantos told the publication elEconomista that the company is considering an acquisition to make it the leading exploiter of shopping centres in Europe. It is already considering three different proposals.
The group, owned by Losantos family, invested EUR 550 mln in Bulgaria and EUR 261 mln in Rumania for the acquisition of shopping centres this year. The company aims to have 40% of its assets outside the Spanish market.
