Business | Investment

ICD offers $4.5b for Colonial

Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) made a conditional offer for Spain's Colonial yesterday, valuing the ailing real estate firm at some three billion euros ($4.5 billion) in cash and paper.

  • Reuters
  • Published: 00:39 February 28, 2008
  • Gulf News

Madrid: Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) made a conditional offer for Spain's Colonial yesterday, valuing the ailing real estate firm at some three billion euros ($4.5 billion) in cash and paper.

ICD said it would offer 1.85 euros a share to shareholders to gain control of at least 50.1 per cent of the firm, mixed with debt worth 2.25 euros per share.

It would then bid for the whole firm in accordance with Spanish takeover laws, which make an offer mandatory for any shareholder holding more than 30 per cent.

In a second stock exchange announcement, ICD said it would pay for at least half the shares in paper, which would not have any coupon and would mature in four and a half years.

The offer represents an 8.8 per cent premium to Colonial's closing price of 1.70 euros on Tuesday. The Spanish bourse suspended trade in Colonial before yesterday's open and delayed its lifting by an hour until 3 pm local time (1400 GMT).

Agreement

Former chairman Luis Portillo and the Nozaleda family, who together own about 52 per cent of the company, had agreed to sell their stock to ICD in the event of a bid.

ICD's move would mark its first major foray into overseas markets since it was established in 2006.

If it bought Colonial, ICD would get its hands on assets the Spanish company values at 12 billion euros, mostly rented office space in Madrid, Barcelona and Paris. However, it would also have to assume debt of around nine billion euros.

The company has been caught by the end of a decade-long boom in the Spanish property sector.

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