Focus on Spanish Investment Immigration and the Spanish Economy: Soros has acquired 3.1% of the shares in Spanish construction company FCC. In less than three months, two prominent investors have put money into this heavily indebted construction firm. Previously, Bill Gates purchased 6% of the company's shares.
According to the Financial Times, last week Soros's fund purchased 3.1% of the shares from FCC's largest shareholder, philanthropist Esther Koplowitz.
Ms. Koplowitz, one of the wealthiest women in Spain, sold 3.8% of her stake in FCC through Spanish broker Fidentis last month for 72 million euros, while still retaining over 50% of the company's shares. Soros invested through derivatives to avoid public announcements.
The collapse of Spain's decade-long real estate boom has left some heavily indebted and blindly expanding construction companies on the brink of bankruptcy. However, in recent months, signs of stabilization in the Spanish economy have emerged, and investors have realized that such companies may become the biggest beneficiaries of the economic recovery.
Bill Gates's fund purchased 6% of FCC in October, valued at 113.5 million euros at the time, which spurred a surge in the company's stock price. The market views this as a sign of international capital's confidence in the recovery of the Spanish economy.
FCC is selling assets to repay debts and is increasingly focusing on overseas operations, with its stock price rising 125.4% over the past six months. FCC plans to sell 2.2 billion euros in non-core assets to address its 6.5 billion euros in net debt.
With recent concerns over the European debt crisis diminishing, international capital is flowing back into Spain. Soros's investment can be seen as riding the wave of this trend.
Due to the decline in government borrowing costs, Spanish stock prices have risen significantly, with the Ibex 35 index, which reflects the stock prices of major Spanish companies, increasing by 15% last year. Private equity funds are also aggressively purchasing assets in Spain.
Juan Béjar Ochoa, Vice Chairman and CEO of FCC, stated that the successful financing of its UK subsidiary to repay debts indicates that international capital is confident in FCC's ability to integrate its business.
