Colonial has announced a €622 million capital increase by Criteria Caixa. This transaction includes a €350 million cash contribution and €272 million in assets, comprising eight office and residential properties in Spain. As a result, Criteria Caixa will become the reference shareholder of Colonial, owning 17% of the shares.
The capital increase has an average issue price of 7.1 euros per share, which represents a premium over the current share price. This measure has been unanimously approved by Colonial's Board.
Juan José Brugera, Chairman of Colonial, states that this partnership strengthens the company's capital structure with a long-term investor and facilitates the acceleration of growth and the creation of value through new investment projects and an improved capital structure.
Pere Viñolas, CEO of the Socimi, highlights that the transaction strengthens Colonial's fundamentals, improves financial flexibility and reduces leverage, which contributes to the creation of value for shareholders. The transaction, which includes the appointment of two Criteria members to Colonial's board of directors, is pending approval at the Extraordinary General Shareholders' Meeting in June.
The assets contributed by Criteria come from the portfolio of its subsidiary InmoCaixa, including three office buildings in Madrid and Barcelona and five residential buildings for lease.
The assets contributed by Criteria come from the portfolio of its subsidiary InmoCaixa, including three office buildings in Madrid and Barcelona and five residential buildings for lease.
In addition, Colonial plans to launch a new development cycle with an investment of €385 million in capital expenditure as part of its Alpha X project, which is expected to deliver an unleveraged return in excess of 9%. This plan includes the transformation of four properties in Paris, Madrid and Barcelona, with the potential to generate additional annual rents of €64 million. These developments are aligned with the company's urban regeneration and asset repositioning strategy.
With this strategy, Colonial expects to reduce its LTV debt ratio from 39.9% to 36.2%, increase its market capitalization by more than €600 million, and maintain its earnings per share forecast for 2024 between 30 and 32 cents.
