Colonial receives bid approach from Dubai sovereign fund 01/02/2008 00:00

Spanish property company Inmobiliaria Colonel said Thursday that the Investment Corporation of Dubai has expressed interest in launching a takeover bid for the firm.

1 February 2008

MADRID - Spanish property company Inmobiliaria Colonel said Thursday that the Investment Corporation of Dubai has expressed interest in launching a takeover bid for the firm.

In a statement filed with the National Securities Commission, Colonial said the Dubai sovereign fund may buy the stakes held in the company by leading shareholders Juan Carlos Nozaleda, Luis Nozaleda and Luis Portillo. If it were to do so, that would automatically trigger a mandatory offer for the rest of Colonial's shares.

Colonial said the Dubai fund had asked to be allowed to examine the company's books.

Colonial's share price closed up 5.59 percent yesterday at EUR 1.70 after hitting an intraday high of EUR 1.73.

The stock has plummeted since the end of last year as credit dried up in the wake of the meltdown in the US subprime market. Colonial values its assets at around EUR 12 billion, while it currently has a market capitalisation of about EUR 2.8 billion. That makes it a potentially attractive takeover target, although the company is also saddled with debts of about EUR 8.9 billion.

The Iberian real estate division of General Electric has also made known its interest in Colonial. The Spanish company has also held talks with French real estate firm Gecina.

[Copyright EL PAÍS / Adrián Soto 2008]

Subject: Spanish news