The Socimi will sell 40 million shares at 10 euros each and plans to list around March 6, the company said in a filing to Spanish regulators yesterday. JP Morgan Chase & Co is coordinating the sale.
The company is managed by Grupo Lar, a real-estate firm with 1.6 billion euros of assets that is controlled by the Pereda family. Socimis are similar to REITs and their income is exempt from corporate tax as long as their main business is the acquisition and refurbishment of urban real estate for rental.
The company’s plans to sell shares come as Spain’s main stock index has gained 25 percent in the past year and the economy is recovering from two recessions and a financial crisis. Private equity companies including Apollo Global Management LLC have moved into the Spanish real-estate market after house prices fell by more than a third, while the bad bank created during the European bailout program to cleanse lenders of toxic real estate is finding buyers for its assets.
Source: businessweek.com
