According to Expansión, Testa will approve by 14 September, in an extraordinary meeting of shareholders, the non-cash deal of increase of capital. On the basis of the transaction agreed last July, Acciona will exchange its portfolio of 1,058 rental homes for Testa shares equivalent to 21% of its capital, and evaluated in the amount of €341 million.
This way, the group headed by José Manuel Entrecanales will then become the company’s third largest shareholder behind Santander, first shareholder with 38.8%, and BBVA (26.9%). Merlin will decrease its participation and keep the remaining 12.7%.
The shareholders meeting will approve the admission of Acciona members’ to Testa Board.
Once this merger is concluded, the new Testa Residencial will have a portfolio of 9,041 homes, for private renting, in 118 buildings. More than half of them (51%) are in Madrid.
The company will generate revenues in excess of €70 million per year, due to the rental of this assets portfolio, valued at about €1,816 million.
The operation gives new impetus to the company’s growth strategy, which does not rule out going public, less than a year after its adoption in October 2016.
Testa Residencial is the result of last year’s merger of Merlin Properties with the equity arm of Metrovacesa, in a deal in which the companies agreed to segregate the housing portfolio into a specific company in Socimi regime.
The company approached a first growth operation, at the beginning of this year, when it’s three shareholder banks (Santander, Popular and BBVA) transferred a portfolio of 3,300 homes to the socimi, also through a non-cash capital increase.