MADRID | March 26, 2015 | By Ana Fuentes | In the second part of our exclusive interview with the IOSCO Secretary General, David Wright speaks about corporate oversight and the need to change a culture which has conflicts of interests at its centre. [You can check Part 1 here]
The Corner | March 20, 2015 | ACF experts believe that “the impact of the acquisition of TSB in earnings per share would be marginally negative in 2015 and 2016, but -5.7% in 2017 if a new synergy plan is not presented.”
MADRID | By Carlos Díaz Güell | The Spanish central lender ordered the national bad bank Sareb’s to assess the 107,000 toxic real estate assets again and 215,000 collaterals on loans that it purchased to the intervened financial entities. This new due dilligence ruined the work of 24 companies such as the property firm Richard Ellis, Clifford Chance’s lawyers and the consulting group KPMG.
MADRID | By The Corner Team | Scandals such as Bankia’s selling preference shares to thousands of Spaniards who had no clue of what they were buying will not happen again, hopefully, if this new plan works: the country’s regulator will send spies to watch how the banks sell financial products, and to what extent their staff knows what they are. The Netherlands, Belgium and France have already implemented this ‘007 method’.
MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Abengoa’s strategy for 2013 included the creation of a company holding concessional assets to go public in the U.S. market. The first step came on Monday when the Spanish firm submitted a draft registration statement to SEC for a yield company. So-called yieldcos in Wall Street’ jargon are financial vehicles that hold assets generating stable and predictable cash flow. The price of the operation remains unknown but its goal would be to raise about $1 billion for the company to continue reducing debt. The Seville-based company specialised in technology solutions for energy and environment sectors is listed in Nasdaq since October 2013.
MADRID | By The Corner Team | When Bill bought 6% of Spanish construction company FCC in last October Spain’s analysts remarked renowed investors interest in the country and anticipated the trend would continue in the coming months. On Tuesday, Bill Gates counterbacked with the acqusition of 2-3% of private security Prosegur.
MADRID| By Julia Pastor| Far from resolving the strife over additional costs to finalise Panama Canal’s third set of locks, actors involved are apparently working on different positions. Spanish company Sacyr, which leads the consortium undertaking the expansion bet on an agreement since the beginning, but the Panama Canal Authority has not smoothed the path, even rejecting EU’ mediation. Last Sacyr’s offer considers to cofinance the project. PCA’s answer has been a different proposal for using the infrastructure’s insurance as a guarantee to get external financing and terminate the works. The deal remains blocked then.
MADRID | By Julia Pastor | Prisa, the symbol of the transition from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy, was born in 1972 as a family-owned business but since the end of 2010, the major company’s owner is US hedge fund Liberty Acquisitions Holdings with a stake of 51%. Prisa has recently carried out a new capital increase and all signs suggest that it could start to disinvest some of its more precious assets with the aim of cutting its overwhelming debt to the minimum. Poor management decisions taken along the way? Many workers don’t hide their disappointment with the firm and say things will never be the same.
MADRID | By Julia Pastor | The rumour about a friendly takeover bid from the US telecomunications group AT&T to acquire 100% of Telefónica has moved the Madrid Stock Exchange on Monday. The offer would have included a payment of €70 billion as well as the absortion of Telefónica’s €52 billion debt.
VALENCIA | By Luis A. Torralba at Valencia Plaza | Hedge Fund GLG Partners earned 1,7 million euros on Thursday with Bankia stocks while small investors are about to lose everything. Spanish regulator CNMV is investigating volumes.