Spinning off and listing of Catena AB, Bilia’s property portfolio – 34 properties located in Denmark, Norway and Sweden – on the Stockholm Stock Exchange on behalf of Bilia AB.
• Bilia is the leading distributor of Volvo cars and supplementary services in the Nordic region. Bilia is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange and the company’s turnover amounted to approximately €1,250 million in 2005.
• Bilia’s property portfolio consisted of 34 properties in Sweden, Denmark and Norway, mainly car dealership facilities, service and accessories shops located in well-established retail areas, with a total lettable area of approximately 250,000 m².
• In spring 2005, Leimdörfer approached Bilia’s owners with the idea to separate the vehicle and property operations. • A number of strategic options were analysed and spinning-off the properties and list them as an independent company was considered most favourable.
• Listed property companies were valued at a premium to net asset value at the time, which meant a favourable timing for a stock market introduction.
• In September 2005, Leimdörfer received a mandate from Bilia’s board to list the properties on the Stockholm Stock Exchange under the name Catena and distribute the shares to Bilia’s shareholders.
• In order to achieve a high valuation on the stock market Leimdörfer thoroughly analysed Catena’s operational and financial strategies, optimal capital structure and lease agreements with Bilia and sub-tenants and acted as advisor in setting up and preparing Catena for a stock market introduction.
• The stock market introduction also included setting-up a new organisation and management and to compile a prospectus, including a detailed market analysis of the specialised market for this type of properties and the Nordic market for car dealership.
• As a conclusion, the separation of Bilia’s core operations from its property holdings increased the company’s operational as well as financial efficiency, which created value for the shareholders in multiple ways: o Bilia could focus on its core business – car dealership. o Catena was organised to manage the properties professionally and the properties’ development potential was maximised.
o The market pricing of premises lead to higher efficiency and flexibility.
o The individual values of Bilia’s operations and properties were clarified.
o Both Bilia and Catena gained access to the capital market which, for example, increased the potential to create an appropriate capital structure for each operation.
o The shareholders were given the opportunity to select exposure to vehicle or property operations, or both.
• Leimdörfer advised Bilia, the largest Nordic car dealer, from initial idea to closing, when spinning off and listing its properties as a separate entity on the stock market.
• The separation of the vehicle and property operations turned out to be an excellent deal for the shareholders. As an illustration, Bilia’s share increased by 12 % when the deal was announced and Catena’s share is currently valued at a premium of 30 % above net asset value.
Sale and leaseback of industrial properties |
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Distribution and stock market introduction of Catena |
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Property Transaction and Financing |
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Aquisition, restructuring and divestment of 82.4% of the publicly traded property company Tornet |