Spanish infrastructure giant Abertis has completed its exit from Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat after selling its remaining 5.01% stake for €275m (US$275m).
The group, which has been gradually selling down its holding for more than two…
Spanish infrastructure giant Abertis has completed its exit from Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat after selling its remaining 5.01% stake for €275m (US$275m).
The group, which has been gradually selling down its holding for more than two years, divested the last chunk to investors through an accelerated bookbuilding process run by UBS and Barclays.
It originally bought a 32% stake in Eutelsat at the end of 2006 for €1.07bn.
Abertis then kicked off the divestment process in January 2012 when it undertook an accelerated placement of 16% that raised €981m. In June of that year the Spanish company sold a further 7% to China Investment Corporation for €385.2m, and in March 2013 it sold 3.15% through another accelerated process, gaining €182m.
In total, Abertis has banked €1.8bn from selling its position in Eutelsat.
The exit comes as the group has increased its holding in Spanish satellite operator Hispasat. Last year Abertis took control of the group from the country’s government when it snapped up a 16.42% stake for €172.5m.
It now holds 57.05% of Hispasat, ahead of Eutelsat’s 33.69% stake in the operator. However, there have been rumours that Abertis is looking to sell these shares too.
The Spanish government still holds stakes in the operator through state-owned groups SEPI and CDTI, which have stakes of 7.41% and 1.85%, respectively.
