The Swiss group SIX already controls over 95% of Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) after its takeover bid. In a statement to the CNMV, SIX said it has now exceeded the threshold required to exercise the right of a forced sale, which will mean the exclusion of BME shares from the Spanish stock market.
A few weeks ago, the government approved a €10 Bn fund to save companies with solvency problems which were particularly affected by Covid-19. The Asturias-based company recorded losses of 9 M in the first quarter to March, after making a €10 M provision due to the uncertainty generated by the coronavirus health crisis.
Abengoa’s risk profile was already very high but this has been aggravated to the point where there is no possibility of business continuity due to the situation resulting from the Covid-19. Abengoa and the banks are negotiating against the clock to find a solution that will allow the company to receive 300 million euros before July 31 and avoid bankruptcy proceedings.
The state-owned company China Three Gorges could be negotiating the purchase of X-Elio’s photovoltaic assets in Spain. These total 640 MW of installed capacity in operation, under construction or in a developing phase, includes the acquisition of 13 photovoltaic plants. According to sources close to the company, the operation could be worth around 500 M. €, which could include the debt related to these project. The operation could be one of China’s few acquisitions in Europe this year, Bloomberg said.
Banco Sabadell | Portugal’s EDP and Australia’s fund Macquarie have created a joint venture to acquire Spain’s Viesgo, the country’s fourth largest electricity company. EDP is acquiring Viesgo’s 500 MW of renewable assets for 615 million euros. As a result, EDP will hold 75.1% of the capital of the new Viesgo and Macquarie will hold the remainder. This new company would have been valued at 2.7 billion euros. Although a priori the creation of a new stronger competitor could mean pressure on the sector, we think it will have little impact since the greatest competitive pressures in the energy sector come from the commercialization leg.
Spanish renewable energy company and Germany’s E.On have signed an agreement for the purchase and sale of commercial electricity assets in Hungary. The deal involves the transfer of a portfolio of over 82,000 customers accounting for 25% share of the market. It includes the supply by E.On to Audax of up to 6 TWh for two years.
US biotech firm Moderna and Spanish laboratory Rovi announced a collaboration agreement to carry out the filling and finishing of a candidate vaccine for Covid-19 (mRNA-1273) outside the US. ROVI will carry out the phases of vial filling and completion. Thus it will acquire a new production line and the necessary equipment for formulation, filling, inspection and labelling, as well as the additional personnel required.The new line would be owned by Rovi, but Moderna will make the investment.
Colonial has limited the impact of the coronavirus crisis to 2% of the total rent it charges for its office buildings. Depending on how the situation evolves, this percentage could rise to a maximum of 6% for the year as a whole, according to chairman Juan José Brugera. This rate is equivalent to about 21 million euros, in virtue of the 352 million euros in rental income recorded in 2019.
The combination of BME and SIX, both leaders in their respective national financial markets, will create a diversified group with a strong presence throughout Europe. It will become the third largest infrastructure group in the European financial market and the tenth largest in the world by revenues. SIX believes this transaction will strengthen the Spanish and Swiss ecosystems by creating centres of excellence and providing new capabilities for BME and SIX participants.
The company has been progressively closing factories worldwide since mid-March. Europe was first, followed by America, but now it expects a gradual re-opening in the coming weeks. The only exception is China, where there has already been some opening up. Gestamp has 11 plants, two R&D centres in China, representing less than 10% of the 112 production plants that it has globally. They hope that activity will return to normal more or less imminently in the rest of its factories.