The board of directors of Merlin Properties has given the green light to a capital increase of 56.3 million new shares, equivalent to 10% of its share capital, valued at around 768 million euros at current market prices, with the aim of continuing to financially support its growth plan in data centers, considered the main vector of expansion for the company in the coming years.
The socimi, which is listed on the Ibex 35, has communicated to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) that the operation will be structured through a private accelerated placement process, aimed exclusively at qualified investors and which begins immediately until this Thursday at 08:00 AM, with the option to extend.
At the end of the accelerated placement process and provided that the interest shown by investors is satisfactory, Merlin will set and make public the definitive terms of the capital increase, including the issue price and the specific number of shares to be issued.
Banco Santander and Nortia Capital, the company's main shareholders with 24.71% and 8.17% of the capital, respectively, have already expressed their irrevocable commitment to participate in the increase in proportion to their current holdings.
Likewise, Merlin, Banco Santander, and Nortia will assume a lock-up commitment for their shares for 60 days from the date of execution and closing of the capital increase, subject to the usual market exceptions contemplated in this type of operation.
The new shares are expected to be admitted to trading on the stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, and Valencia this Thursday, March 26, and to begin trading on the market on Friday.
In the operation, Banco Santander, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley act as global coordinators, while BBVA, BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, Crédit Agricole and Investment Bank, and Société Générale participate as co-coordinators. In turn, Barclays, BofA Securities, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, UBS Europe, and Van Lanschot Kempen act as bookrunners, along with the 'joint global coordinators' and 'joint bookrunners'.
Almost 4.5 billion euros in investment
In a recent presentation to investors, the company explained that it plans to allocate 4.47 billion euros between 2026 and 2030 to the deployment of the new phase III, after completing a phase I endowed with 614 million and continuing with a phase II of 2.756 billion. The announced expansion is specifically aimed at financing phase III.
This third phase will add a total additional capacity of 412 MW, mainly through the expansion of 162 MW and 100 MW at its facilities in Bilbao and Lisbon, respectively, and with the construction of a new data center in Zaragoza with a power of 150 MW.
The SOCIMI expects its data center activity to represent 65% of its estimated annual turnover of 1.8 billion euros by 2032, compared to the 6% it contributed last year, as it advances in the development of new projects in Spain and Portugal.