Helios RE, a company 62.5% owned by Hines and 37.5% by Grupo Lar, has completed the squeeze-out of 7.8% of the shares of Lar España Real Estate SOCIMI that it did not already own, thus reaching 100% of the share capital. This transaction concludes the voluntary takeover bid launched by Helios RE at a price of 8.3 euros per share, which was approved by the Spanish Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV) on 28 November 2024.
On 27 December, after the settlement of the takeover bid and the contribution of Grupo Lar's shares, Helios RE already controlled 92.2% of Lar España's capital. With the execution of the squeeze-out, the SOCIMI has been delisted from the Spanish stock exchanges as of 14 February, and will be immediately listed on BME Scaleup, within the BME MTF Equity system. The incorporation has counted with Armabex as registered advisor. Lar España will continue to operate under the SOCIMI regime it has maintained since its IPO in 2014.
The CNMV had already suspended the listing of Lar España on 30 January, coinciding with the start of the process of compulsory purchase and sale of the remaining shares. The suspension, requested by Helios RE, allowed the total acquisition of the company's shares to be completed. Among the shareholders who still held shares before the squeeze-out were UBS, with 1.2% of the capital, and Millennium Group, with 1%, among others. Until its suspension, Lar España accumulated a revaluation of 0.48% in January, closing at 8.29 euros per share.
For Vanessa Gelado, director of Lar España and Senior Managing Director - Country Head of Hines in Spain, ‘we are concluding a successful transaction and starting a new journey as a SOCIMI from BME Scaleup with the aim of continuing to lead the retail sector, where we intend to promote excellence in the corporate and financial fields and in our commitment to our stakeholders’.
For his part, José Manuel Llovet, director of Lar España and CEO of Tertiary at Grupo Lar, highlighted that ‘after successfully completing the squeeze-out, the company is ready to start applying an even stronger and more qualified management of our assets, based on our in-depth experience in a sector that has demonstrated its resilience and aroused the market's interest’.
Lar España's new board of directors was also appointed on 27 December. Regina Garay assumes the position of chairman of the board as an independent director, together with Enrique Illán de Haro, also as an independent director. Representing Hines, Vanessa Gelado and Lucía Martínez-Noriega sit on the board, while José Manuel Llovet represents Grupo Lar.
