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ECONOMY

Spain’s Ferrovial reaps rewards of Heathrow stake

Construction company Ferrovial, the largest shareholder in London's Heathrow airport, said Tuesday that its profit jumped 147 percent in 2023 largely thanks to growing air transport and greater traffic on its highways.

Published: 28 February 2024 09:10 CET
Spain's Ferrovial reaps rewards of Heathrow stake
Ferrovial has been seeking to sell its 25 percent stake in Heathrow to Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)

The Spanish company, which last year transferred its headquarters to the Netherlands, said net profit rose to 460 million euros last year from 186 million the previous year.

Revenue rose 13 percent to €8.5 billion.

Heathrow saw 79.2 million passengers last year, up 28 percent from the previous year.

Revenue at its historic construction activities rose 9.9 percent.

Ferrovial has been seeking to sell its 25 percent stake in Heathrow to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and French investment manager Ardian for €2.7 billion.

But the sale has been held up by a group of small shareholders who together hold 35 percent of the airport and want to the right to “tag along” and sell their shares at the same price and conditions as Ferrovial.

According to Spanish media, Ferrovial has approached other potential buyers in order to complete the transaction, which Ferrovial is carrying out to raise money to invest in its US activities.

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BANKING

Spain’s govt vows to block BBVA’s hostile bid for rival Sabadell

Spain's Economy and Labour ministers said Thursday they opposed the hostile takeover bid launched by BBVA bank for its smaller rival Sabadell, saying the government would have the final say in the operation.

Published: 9 May 2024 12:08 CEST
Spain's govt vows to block BBVA's hostile bid for rival Sabadell

Spain’s second-largest bank BBVA announced Thursday a hostile takeover bid for smaller rival Banco Sabadell but the government vowed to block the move, which would create a European giant in the sector.

BBVA’s new bid came three days after Sabadell’s board of directors rejected a merger proposal, saying it was “not in the best interest” of the bank.

The takeover proposal values Sabadell, Spain’s fourth-largest banking group in terms of capitalisation, at nearly €11.5 billion ($12.3 billion).

“The operation will create one of the best banks in Europe,” BBVA said in a statement.

But Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s leftist government swiftly came out against the move, as did the regional government of Catalonia where Sabadell was born and where it has a strong presence.

Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz said it was against Spain’s “interests” because it “would destroy many jobs”.

Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo warned the government “will have the last word when it comes to authorising the operation” which he said would be “potentially damaging”..

The head of the regional government of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès, echoed these concerns, telling Spanish public television the takeover would “affect many jobs in Catalonia”.

Aragonès is facing a regional election in Catalonia on Sunday, with polls showing he is trailing.

READ ALSO: Why regional elections in Catalonia matter to Spain’s future

The takeover would be carried out under same conditions as the initial approach — an exchange of one new BBVA share for every 4.83 Sabadell shares, a 30-percent premium over the April 29th closing price of both banks, BBVA said.

“We are presenting to Banco Sabadell’s shareholders an extraordinarily attractive offer to create a bank with greater scale in one of our most important markets,” BBVA Chair Carlos Torres Vila said in the statement.

A takeover would create a banking powerhouse capable of competing with Santander – Spain’s leading bank – as well as with European giants such as HSBC and BNP Paribas.

BBVA, which also has operations in Mexico, Argentina and Turkey, is Spain’s second-largest banking group in terms of capitalisation and has 74.1 million customers.

Sabadell operates in 14 countries and has nearly 20 million customers.

The bank had said on Monday that the initial offer “significantly undervalues the potential of Banco Sabadell and its standalone growth prospects”.

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