Grifols solution The Grifols family, which controls 30 per cent of the Spanish blood plasma pharmaceutical company, could go private.
Financial daily Cinco Dias recently revealed that the company and Canadian fund, Brookfield Capital Partners, were discussing a joint takeover worth around €5.5 billion which could be completed “within weeks.”
Shares rose by 15 per cent on the morning of July 8 after trading was temporarily halted following publication of the takeover rumours.
Grifols has been practically under siege since January 2024 after short-seller investment fund Gotham City Research maintained that Grifols had manipulated its debt-to-earnings figures by consolidating the earnings of units it did not control.
At the time. Gotham said Grifols shares were “uninvestible.”
Britvic says yes UK soft drinks maker Britvic has agreed to an improved £3.3 billion (€3.9 billion) offer from Danish brewer Carlsberg.
Britvic accepted £13.15 (€15.60) a share after turning down and earlier offer which it said had undervalued the company.
Carlsberg announced on July 8 that the Britvic board would “unanimously recommend” the cash offer of £12.90 (€15.31) per Britvic share plus a special dividend of 25p (approximately €0.29) for each share.
Enagas goes greener Spanish company Enagas is selling its 30.2 per cent holding in US energy infrastructure company, Tallgrass Energy.
The $1.1 billion (€1.02 billion) sale to the US investment company Blackstone, which already owns a Tallgrass stake, will be used to finance green hydrogen projects, Enagas announced.
Spain’s gas grid operator, in which the State holds a 5 per cent stake, looks to evolve from its established role as a natural gas grid operator to organising a hydrogen infrastructure network.
Meanwhile, Enagas will absorb a €360 capital loss from the divestment that should be completed by the end of July although the transaction will bring a positive impact on earnings from 2025.
Match point WETHERSPOONS has done well from Euro 2024 with beer sales surging during matches that have compensated for a wet June.
The chain does not usually offer live sport for its customers, but only two of the chain’s 809 pubs did not provide coverage, apart from the 21 which do not have televisions.
It now looks forward to a 6 per cent increase in sales for the current quarter and the pubs foresee a buoyant annual profit that easily approaches the predicted £75 million (€89 million).
Legendary marque The Lancia is to be produced in Spain once more.
Seat formerly built the brand at its Landaben (Navarro) plant in the late 70s and early 80s and now, 40 years later, Stellantis announced that it would be produced exclusively at its Figueruelas (Zaragoza) factory.
The company has begun taking orders for the Ypsilon, a hybrid and electric model with the first deliveries scheduled for October 2024.
“This is an important phase in our plans,” Lancia chief executive Luca Napolitano said.
“Lancia returns to Europe and arrives in Spain, which has always been one of the marque’s most important markets.”
Mulberry bushed Thierry Andretta, Mulberry chief executive since 2015, left the company with immediate effect on July 9.
The upmarket handbag company, whose customers include the Princess of Wales and Kate Moss, saw total revenues fall 4 per cent in the year ending on March 30, 2024, with a 3.2 per cent fall in UK sales.
Insiders also revealed that tensions have risen at Mulberry following attempts by Frasers Group owner Mike Ashley, who owns a 37 per cent stake in the company, to join the board.
Puig in NY Cosmetics giant Puig’s shares are now listed on the Spanish stock market and will soon be available in the US.
Citi and Puig have launched an unsponsored American Depositary Receipts (ADR) programme that is equivalent to 25 million shares in the Barcelona-based company which owns Penhaligon’s, Charlotte Tilbury and Jean Paul Gaultier.
This will enable the US market to invest in Puig without any further regulatory procedures, in a system that is already used by Telefonica, Santander BBVA and Grifols.
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