The deal will double the size of Testa Residential, as it will jointly bring a dilution of the 34.2% stake which Merlin has in the firm as second shareholder after Santander, which controls 46.2% of the capital.
The contribution of properties on behalf of the shareholder banks marks the growth strategy which has been set for this new SOCIMI in rentals, which includes going public next year. In fact, this is the first transfer of new assets which the members have granted to Testa Residencial since its constitution in October of this year, with a portfolio of 4,700 apartment houses, the majority (63%) located in Madrid.
The transfer of the houses from the shareholder banks to the company will take place through a non-monetary capital increase, a deal Testa Residencial will approve at a shareholders’ meeting next 30thJanuary.
Given the floor value of the current portfolio of the firm, estimated at 701 million euros, the injection of new assets will almost double the size of the company
Testa Residencial is the result of adding up and segregating into a subsidiary the houses which Testa and Metrovacesa brought to Merlin when they joined with this SOCIMI, not considered strategic and which they thus decided to deconsolidate by means of structuring a new SOCIMI.
The holdings which Santander, BBVA (13%) and Banco Popular (6%) have in the business are the result of exchanging the percentages which the three entities hold in Metrovacesa.
The fusion of this real estate company with Merlin, concluded last October, gave rise to a new Merlin which, according to figures, is the top nationwide listed real estate company with shares of r 9,100 million euros.
Therefore, the integration shone a path for Testa Residencial, which is also the first property leasing company in the country, with the aim of forming a subsidiary specifically for house purchase.