Iberia Approached About Buyout
© 2007 The Associated Press
MADRID, Spain — Iberia, Spain's biggest air carrier, said Thursday it has been approached by a private investment group about a possible buyout offer worth up to $5.53 billion.
In a regulatory filing, Iberia said it received a letter from a group of investors led by Spanish private equity firm Gala Capital asking for access to the airline's books.
It said the letter mentions an indicative offer price per share range of 3.60 euros to 3.90 euros ($5.29 to $5.73).
Madrid-based Iberia received a takeover approach in March from U.S. private equity firm TPG. The firm's preliminary offer was for 3.60 euros a share, or about 3.41 billion euros ($5.01 billion). It has since built a consortium including key Iberia shareholder British Airways and several Spanish financial investors to prepare a binding offer for the company.
In response, some of Iberia's Spanish shareholders have been looking for higher offers for the Spain's flagship carrier, the nation's largest airline by revenue. The Spanish shareholders of Iberia include savings bank Caja Madrid, retailer El Corte Ingles and cigarette distributor Compania de Distribucion Integral Logista SA.
Iberia shares rose more than 4 percent after the company confirmed the potential offer, prompting stock market regulators to suspend trading in the shares. When trading resumed, they were up 4.6 percent to 3.65 euros ($5.37).
The group led by Gala Capital also includes Juan Jose Hidalgo, chairman of Spanish airline AirEuropa, and several regional Spanish savings banks, including Basque lender BBK.
Another group of Spanish investors is also reportedly circling Iberia. Dow Jones Newswires, citing people familiar with the situation, said This group is led by the former chief executive of fashion retailer Inditex, Jose Maria Castellano. Castellano helped build Inditex, owner of the Zara clothing stores, into one of the world's largest retailers by market capitalization.
© 2007 The Associated Press
MADRID, Spain — Iberia, Spain's biggest air carrier, said Thursday it has been approached by a private investment group about a possible buyout offer worth up to $5.53 billion.
In a regulatory filing, Iberia said it received a letter from a group of investors led by Spanish private equity firm Gala Capital asking for access to the airline's books.
It said the letter mentions an indicative offer price per share range of 3.60 euros to 3.90 euros ($5.29 to $5.73).
Madrid-based Iberia received a takeover approach in March from U.S. private equity firm TPG. The firm's preliminary offer was for 3.60 euros a share, or about 3.41 billion euros ($5.01 billion). It has since built a consortium including key Iberia shareholder British Airways and several Spanish financial investors to prepare a binding offer for the company.
In response, some of Iberia's Spanish shareholders have been looking for higher offers for the Spain's flagship carrier, the nation's largest airline by revenue. The Spanish shareholders of Iberia include savings bank Caja Madrid, retailer El Corte Ingles and cigarette distributor Compania de Distribucion Integral Logista SA.
Iberia shares rose more than 4 percent after the company confirmed the potential offer, prompting stock market regulators to suspend trading in the shares. When trading resumed, they were up 4.6 percent to 3.65 euros ($5.37).
The group led by Gala Capital also includes Juan Jose Hidalgo, chairman of Spanish airline AirEuropa, and several regional Spanish savings banks, including Basque lender BBK.
Another group of Spanish investors is also reportedly circling Iberia. Dow Jones Newswires, citing people familiar with the situation, said This group is led by the former chief executive of fashion retailer Inditex, Jose Maria Castellano. Castellano helped build Inditex, owner of the Zara clothing stores, into one of the world's largest retailers by market capitalization.
