CriteriaCaixa buys 9.4% of ACS for 983 million euros and Fainé will join the board

He becomes the second largest shareholder of the construction company, only behind Florentino Pérez

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CriteriaCaixa, the industrial arm of the la Caixa Banking Foundation, has become a shareholder in ACS after purchasing 9.4% of the company’s capital for 983 million euros, which will allow the entry of Isidro Fainé, president of Criteria, on the board of directors of the construction company.

Criteria has carried out this operation through the purchase of a total of 25,431,299 of ACS’s own shares, after the company chaired by Florentino Pérez canceled in advance the two ‘forward’ contracts that affected the treasury stock, representing 9.361% , as communicated to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).

ACS sources consulted by Europa Press have declined to make further comments on the matter, limiting themselves to reproducing the two relevant facts that have been communicated to the supervisor, the first regarding the cancellation of the forward contracts and the second in relation to the operation itself. .

Following the operation, CriteriaCaixa will become the second largest shareholder of ACS and will propose to its board of directors the appointment of Isidro Fainé as a proprietary director, as announced by the Caixa investment holding company in a statement.

The first shareholder of ACS is Florentino Pérez, who controls around 14% of the shareholding, followed now by Criteria – whose participation is already visible on the CNMV portal -, BlackRock (4.5%) and Vanguard (3.4%). Companies linked to Alberto Cortina and Alberto Alcocer (‘the Albertos’) control around 4%.

Criteria defends that this operation is part of its investment policy, which seeks to select “leading companies in highly attractive sectors, with the capacity for growth and generation of value.”

This takeover of 9.4% of ACS by Criteria follows the intention of the La Caixa holding company to increase its stake in Telefónica to 10% and to acquire 17% of Colonial or 3% of Puig, at the same time which is preparing to strengthen its position in Naturgy within the framework of the takeover bid that the Emirati group Taqa plans to launch.

Currently, in addition to its 31.9% stake in CaixaBank, Criteria controls 26.7% of Naturgy, 4.3% of Cellnex, 5.007% of Telefónica, 3% of the Colonial Socimi, 99.5% of % of Saba car parks and 15% of Aguas de Barcelona. Internationally, it owns 19.2% of Bank of East Asia and 9.1% of the Mexican financial group Inbursa.

As of December 31, 2023, the total gross value of all its assets amounted to €26.5 billion, 86% of them highly liquid. 42% is concentrated in listed equities related to banking and another 42% in listed equities in the industrial or services field, while 10% focuses on the real estate business.

“The entry as a shareholder in ACS also contributes to CriteriaCaixa continuing to strengthen the structure of the la Caixa Foundation’s assets, with the aim of generating the necessary economic resources that allow its social action to continue contributing year after year to the development of a society that gives more opportunities to those who need it most,” argues Criteria.

NEW ACS DIVIDENDS

Regarding ACS, it has 135,000 employees around the world, with an annual turnover of more than 35.7 billion euros and a project portfolio that amounts to 73.5 billion euros, with a strong presence in the United States and Australia.

The investment arm of Caixa also highlights the dividend policy paid by Florentino Pérez’s group, such as the 507 million euros that it will deliver in the next payment in July at a rate of 1.55 euros per share.

Furthermore, ACS has already presented its latest strategic plan, which plans to distribute some 2,000 million euros in dividends in the next three years (an average of 667 million annually), thanks to the boost in its activity, expecting a profit of between 850 and 1,000 million euros in 2026.

The construction company’s shares rose 0.45% on the stock market after 11:00 a.m. this Friday, until each of its shares were listed at 39.92 euros, which represents a market capitalization of 10,840 million euros.