In a statement sent to BME Growth, where it has been listed since September 2019, the company controlled by the García-Cereceda family has announced the acquisition of a 38% stake in the North American company at a price per share of 8.96 euros. Likewise, a contingent price has been agreed, amounting to two million euros, equivalent to about 14 cents per share. A price that will accrue "in the event that a certain threshold of total gross income of the company is reached at the close of fiscal year 2022", they specify.
The transfer of the shares is scheduled to be formalized before a notary on February 15.
Värde Partners initially bought its stake in LFGA in December 2016. The rest of the shares of the Socimi were held by Grupo La Finca Promociones y Conciertos Inmobiliarios (holding company chaired by Susana García-Cereceda), with 50.01% of the capital , and Yolanda García-Cereceda, with 10.99%. Therefore, after the sale, Grupo La Finca will control more than 88% of LFGA, becoming its largest shareholder.
LFGA has a real estate portfolio valued at 562.8 million euros. It is made up of eleven buildings located in Madrid, as well as La Finca Business Park, one of the largest business parks in Europe, located in Pozuelo de Alarcón, and which has more than 225,000 sqm of prime offices.
Five years of relationship
Värde entered the company investing around 130 million, so his departure has occurred for almost the same amount. In 2020, the US firm hired Deloitte to sell its stake in the Socimi. Allianz and Starwood Capital were some of the interested companies, but the sale was halted due to legal disputes between the Cereceda sisters, the other LFGA partners. And the outbreak of the pandemic once again put the brakes on the plans. But in January 2021, the fund reactivated the sale of its stake.
"Through our partnership with GLF, we have successfully implemented a number of value creation initiatives that have increased our investment and helped establish LFGA as a leading provider of office space in Madrid. LFGA has continued to do well. performance, despite the challenges facing the office sector, and we believe it is well positioned to capitalize on the economic recovery when Spain emerges from the pandemic", said Tim Mooney, partner and global director of real estate at Värde Partners.
For her part, Susana García-Cereceda, president of LFGA and GLF, thanked "the trust and support" provided by Värde. "The decisions we have taken together have helped to improve the assets, adapting them to the new demands of our customers even in very difficult circumstances. I look forward to the opportunity to work with Värde again in the future," concluded the management.
