The Serra family launches a 2,277 million OPA on Catalan Occidente to exclude it from the stock market

Inoc, the Serra family vehicle, owned by 62.03% of Catalan Group of the West (GCO), It has launched an opa of 2,277 million euros over 100% of the company’s capital with a price of 50 euros per share, The company has informed the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) this Thursday. As explained by the company inoc in a statement, the objective of this operation is to promote the exclusion of GCO Stock Exchange.

This happens at a time where the securities of the insurer were at historical maximums, Closing the market today at 42.25 euros per share. The offer based on the 45.55 million remaining shares in circulation, representing 37.57% of the remaining capital.

This consideration It is a premium of approximately 18.3% On the current price, of 23.9% on the average price of the month before the ad, of 28.3% on the average price of the previous three months and 31% of the last semester.

However, the price proposed by the Serra family for minority shareholders It is lower than the one proposed by the Consensus of Analysts. As indicated, the recommended price is 54.30 euros.

Inocsa has pointed out that the acceptance of the offer It depends on the yes of approximately 13.05% of the share capital. This value must be added 62.03% in family possession, which exceeds 75% of the minimum capital to perform an OPA of forced exclusion. These are 15,671,159 titles, so that the Serra Society reaches the ownership of at least 60,000.001 shares.

Shareholders will have several options for redeeming the offer. In addition to cash consideration, They can also accept a class B action of new inocsa broadcast for every 43,84 shares of GCO. This will be for a maximum of 8 million shares of GCO, which represents around 6.66% of the share capital.

As the insurer has just reported in a statement to the CNMV, the offer was agreed on January 14 in a confidentiality agreement between Inoc (the Serra family) and the rest of the shareholders.

Now, the company’s board of directors, since the bidder is the highest shareholder and who exercises control of the insurer, has approved the creation of a specific committee for the monitoring of the OPA. It will be composed by the independent directors, which are Raquel Cortizo, Beatriz Molins and Francisco Javier Pérez.

Grupo Catalana Occidente closed closed 2024 with benefits of 623.2 million euros, which constituted 12.9% more than the previous year. Its subsidiary in Insurance, Occident, closed with an income of 3,239 million and a combined ratio of 90.9%. Mémora, funeral company acquired in 2023, obtained a volume of 262 million. And the credit insurance subsidiary, Atradius, invoiced 2,495 million.

The oldest insurer of the parquet

If the items outlaw, it would be the withdrawal of one of the three insurers that currently quote in Spain. Grupo Catalana Occidente is the most historical, with its departure in 1997. Mapfre followed, the largest entity in the sector in Spain after nine years, with its demutualization process to start capturing public capital.

The last to do so was direct line, with its incorporation into the parquet in April 2021. Since then, the value of the securities of the insurer directed by Patricia Ayuela has fallen 24%, with the titles to 1.23 euros. Mutua Madrid is another insurance that in recent years has also sounded to join the bag, but for now the process seems distant.

Output time

The one of Catalana Occidente is the last of an increasingly long list of companies that opt for the exclusion in the stock market due to the possibility of resorting to investment funds to finance. The growing costs, the obligations of transparency and governance or uncertainty in international markets are the main factors that are causing the stock exodus of many of the Spanish quoted. 2024 was the year with more opas in the history of the Spanish market, and many of them ended the leading companies outside the parquet. Among the most prominent are Applus after being acquired by Amber; Opdenergy’s, acquired by Antin. More recently, the departures of Alba Financial Corporation, a historic stock market, have been notified after the OPA of its president and maximum shareholder, Carlos March; The extinct NH hotels, renamed Minor Hotels & Americas and which was acquired by its main shareholder, Minor International; Or the real estate socimi, excluded after acquiring 100% of its capital.

In the list of those that did not meet we found Grifols, after his advice rejected the offer of the Canadian Brookfield fund at 10.5 euros per title; or that of the Hungarian Magyar Vagon group about 100% of the capital of Talgo.