Sidenor, Sepi and the Basque government offer to acquire 40% of Talgo without announcing a takeover
Government-sponsored multi-gang operation buy from the British fund Trilantic in the block of shares Talgo takes shape. This was confirmed by the company late yesterday, Wednesday, when it sent an announcement to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), saying it had received an “expression of interest” from the industry group. Sidenorin the letter of which he expresses his intention to implement ” full or partial acquisition of share capital“, opening the door to a public acquisition offer (takeover bid) of 100% of the company.
How could he find out elEconomista.esbusinessman Jose Antonio Hainaga decided to present his proposal through a steel company he owned rather than through his investment company Mirai Investmentssince it is just a commercial brand launched under the umbrella of the generic Clerbil SL. The claims of the Basque businessman, thus revealed on Monday, They acquire up to 29.9% of the capital. rail industry to avoid having to file a takeover bid by reaching the 30% threshold set by the rules governing this type of deal.
At the same time, as the media learned, President Sidenora was planning offer a price higher than 4 euros per titlebut believes that the real value of the company is far from the 5 euros offered by the Hungarian consortium Ganz-MaVag, whose takeover bid Moncloa vetoed, citing “reasons of national security and public order.” Despite this, final compensation has yet to be determined in negotiations that are still unresolved, according to sources close to the manufacturer. hasn’t officially startedwith simple contacts between the businessman, the Basque and Spanish governments and the management of Talgo.
Trilantic asks for 5 euros
The future of this proposal appears to depend on reaching an agreement with the British fund. Trilanticmajority shareholder of the manufacturer with approximately 30% of the capital. At this point, the fund headed by Javier Banón would show itself inflexible to sell their titles for less than 5 euros per share offered by Hungary, based on the company’s growth potential and performance on the stock market, given its large order book.
Trilantic also has the advantage of controlling the majority of the tooling company. Pegaso Transportowner of 40.03% of Talgo capital, and whose decisions must be supported by the remaining minority shareholders: the fund Torreal from the Abello family, which with 3% also wants to reverse its position; and family Oriolewhile 7% is distributed in minority stakes in the hands of the heirs of the co-founder.
10% for Sepi and Finkatuz
Thus, if Jainaga’s intentions are taken into account, a little over 10% would need to be assumed to be able to release current shareholders. This participation will be ensured by the Spanish public administrations, in particular by the State through State Company of Industrial Participation (SEPI) and for the Basque Country through a fund Finkatuza financial instrument administered by the Basque Institute of Finance (IVF), controlled by the Basque government.
In Moncloa, for its part, the operation has already received approval Manuel de la Rochahead of the Economic Office of the President of the Government and the man who took the reins of the ministries of industry and transport, which, after a summer of intense activity, were sidelined in an attempt to create an alternative to Hungary. . The participation of SEPI and Finkatuz will be divided a priori equally. assuming each organization makes up about 5%.
The amount offered by Jainaga will be the one that will set the final price for the public administrations involved in the process, but both will end up in the hands of the train manufacturer. payment from 20 to 30 million eurosgiven the price the market has set for the company today. After closing the day up 4.5% on Tuesday, the stock performed similarly on Wednesday, with Talgo ending the day up 4.9% to trade at €3.64. Although their price is still far from the 4.78 euros marked on February 8, a few weeks before the launch of the Hungarian offer, the titles have reached restore almost 10% in just two days, given the possibility of the company returning to Spanish hands.
Jainaga’s investments will exceed 150 million
Talgo finished yesterday Approximate market value: $451 million. euros, which is about 170 million below the price set by the Hungarian consortium Ganz-MaVag in its offer at 619 million. The figures offered by Jainaga’s entourage value the acquisition proposal at threshold from 4.10 to 4.30 euroswhich will increase the cost from 508 to 532 million euros.
According to these figures, Jainaga’s purchase of 29.9% of the company will mean investments of 152 to 159 million euros. For their part, public administrations will allocate between 50.8 and 53.2 million for this operation, while between 25 and 27 million will be divided between SEPI and the Basque Finkatuz fund.
Criteria beyond the scope of the agreement
Over time, one who seems to have been left out of the operation is La Caixa’s investment arm. Caixa criteriawho was originally called the government’s “white knight”. From the company, chaired by Isidro Faine and led by Angel Simon, they say that They had no contact with the new offeror.and they reiterate that their entry must be conditional on the existence of an industrial partner capable of providing technical expertise and the receipt of a business plan to guarantee their future viability.