Abertis closes the sale of 7% of Eutelsat to China Investment Corporation

MADRID | Abertis said on Monday it had agreed to sell 7% of Eutelsat to China Investment Corporation (CIC) for €385.2 million. The transaction, which generated net capital gains of €237 million, follows Abertis’ January sale of 16% of Eutelsat in a private placement among qualified investors. Abertis will remain a Eutelsat shareholder, with a stake of 8.35%.

In compliance with the terms agreed by Abertis in the recent placement of a 16% stake in Eutelsat’s share capital among qualified investors, CIC has agreed not to dispose of the acquired shares (“lock-up”) during the period that remains from the initial 6 months.

In a press release, the company noted it

“keeps on reshuffling its holdings in the satellite in

frastructure business and strengthening its commitment to growth, specifically targeting projects in which it can take an industry leadership role and a greater financial consolidation, as in the case of Hispasat.”

In the first quarter of 2012, Aberti's operating revenues grew 1.4% to €888 million, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew 3.1% to €547 million, and recurring net profit grew 3.3% to €117 million. The net profit after net capital gains from the sale of 16% in Eutelsat totalled €517 million.

The results of this period did not include the impact of the purchase of Telefónica’s participation in Hispasat, which increases the percentage of consolidation, but did include the impact of the sale of 16% in Eutelsat which has temporarily reduced Hispasat’s percentage of consolidation. The leap year has also had a positive impact on operating income (1.1%).

zp8497586rq

About the Author

The Corner
The Corner has a team of on-the-ground reporters in capital cities ranging from New York to Beijing. Their stories are edited by the teams at the Spanish magazine Consejeros (for members of companies’ boards of directors) and at the stock market news site Consenso Del Mercado (market consensus). They have worked in economics and communication for over 25 years.