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Banc Sabadell pays AEGON €450 million for 50% of the insurance company Mediterraneo Vida

CNA

The Catalan financial entity Banc Sabadell reached an agreement with the Dutch insurance company AEGON on Friday to buy 50% of the shares of Mediterráneo Vida, S.A. de Seguros y Reaseguros, the joint venture originally established with Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo. The operation is on the condition that they receive the green light from the regulatory authorities. The transaction will allow Banc Sabadell to own 100% of Mediterráneo Vida, S.A. With the operation, the Catalan bank will move forward in the organisation of its insurance subsidiaries and affiliates.

May 4, 2013 12:21 AM

Seat, Nissan, Ficosa, Gestamp and Doga back up the creation of an automation cluster in Catalonia

CNA

The President of the Catalan Government announced the initiative which will aim to develop an industry and knowledge cluster of the automation sector. The cluster would profit from the multinational companies based in Catalonia, the country’s industrial sector traditionally linked to cars and bikes, the export infrastructures, Barcelona’s car fair, the Formula-1 racing circuit and the innovation, design and education centres. The new cluster is fully supported by the Catalan Government, since automation is one of the main engines driving Catalonia’s economy. It aims to strengthen the sector’s competitiveness, foster cooperation between companies, facilitate the education and training of professionals, develop innovation and implement strategic agendas such as sustainable mobility and electrical vehicles.

May 1, 2013 12:10 AM

Lloyds buys 1.8% of Banc Sabadell by transferring its Spanish subsidiaries to the Catalan bank

CNA

The Catalan Banc Sabadell has bought all the shares in the Lloyds subsidiary companies in Spain: Lloyds Bank International and Lloyds Investment. Banc Sabadell paid €84 million that will be paid through giving 53.75 million shares in the Catalan bank to the British banking giant. This way, Lloyds will control 1.8% of Banc Sabadell’s total shares. The agreement foresees than the UK group will become a “stable shareholder”, since Lloyds has committed to keeping the stocks for at least two years. With the operation, the Catalan bank will control the Lloyds retail and investment businesses in Spain, where the UK company has 28 branches, €1.79 billion in loans and €760 million in deposits.

April 30, 2013 12:25 AM

Container exports from Barcelona Port increased by 7.7% in the first quarter of 2013

CNA

Passenger traffic from the Catalan capital’s harbour increased by 18% in the period from January to March, and that of cruise passengers grew by 40%. In total, 9.8 million tonnes of goods were transported through the Port of Barcelona. The tonnes of goods transported via container increased by 0.8%. Regarding the transport of cars, which is one of the harbour’s main activities, 164,452 car units were transported through the port, a 1% increase compared to last year.

April 25, 2013 12:12 AM

British Airways-Iberia to own 90% of Vueling after many shareholders decided to accept the takeover offer

CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

IAG, the company resulting from the merger of British Airways and Iberia, improved its initial offer from €7 per share to €9.25 to buy 100% of the Catalan airline’s shares. Iberia already owned 45.85% of Vueling and the IAG offer aimed to buy the remaining 54.15%. However, IAG had already stated the operation would still be carried out if it could buy 4.16% of Vueling’s share, in order to own 50.01% of the airline. Finally, more than four fifths of the remaining shareholders decided to sell their stocks to IAG. The international airline will buy 44.66% of Vueling’s shares and then it will own 90.51% of the company based in Barcelona El Prat Airport. Vueling is one of the few European airlines that has made a profit in the last few years. It has a competitive business model, flying to more than 200 destinations.

April 24, 2013 12:08 AM

The Catalan Government attracted 37% more foreign investment in 2012 than in the previous year

CNA

47 foreign investment industrial projects, bringing in €331.88 million, landed in Catalonia last year through ‘Invest in Catalonia’, a programme from the Catalan Government. This represents 37% more investments than in 2011. The projects created 2,324 new jobs and they also allowed companies to keep 2,566 positions. Besides, the Spanish Ministry for the Economy stated that foreign investment in Spain dropped by 43% in total and by 14% in Catalonia. The Catalan Business Minister, Felip Puig, explained that the Spanish Ministry data includes financial investments. However, Puig emphasised that the Spanish Ministry’s report also states that industrial and manufacturing investments in Catalonia increased by 6.2% and 11% respectively.

April 23, 2013 09:03 PM

Banc Sabadell will buy Banco Gallego for 1 euro after a €245 million injection of public money

CNA

On Wednesday it became known that the Catalan Banc Sabadell would acquire Banco Gallego from the Spanish Fund for Orderly Banking Restructuring (FROB). However, the details of the operation were still being discussed and no detailed information was disclosed. On Friday, it was stated that the FROB – owned by the Spanish Government and the Bank of Spain – will inject €245 million of public money into Banco Gallego. In exchange, Banc Sabadell will buy the financial entity for the symbolical price of 1 euro but will take care of all the potential future losses.

April 20, 2013 12:52 AM

Barcelona Port’s new hydrocarbon terminal is unveiled

CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

Tradebe’s new terminal for petrochemical products has 29 tanks for storing bulk liquids, with a total capacity of 450,000 cubic metres. The new facility represented a €65 million investment, occupying 60,000 square metres and creating 27 direct jobs. Tradebe is one of the leading companies in industrial waste management in Spain, with a significant presence in the United States and the United Kingdom as well as having subsidiary companies in France and Turkey. The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, and the Spanish Minister for Public Works, Ana Pastor, participated in the unveiling ceremony. Mas asked Pastor to prioritise “productive” investments, such as Barcelona Port’s railway connections.

April 18, 2013 09:47 PM

The Catalan Banc Sabadell to acquire the Banco Gallego

CNA

The offer, presented by Banc Sabadell, has won the tender for the acquisition of Banco Gallego, which was nationalised and owned by the Spanish Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB). Banco Gallego was partially owned by Novagalicia Banco, the private bank resulting from Nova Caixa Galicia. The FROB has announced its decision although it also explained that the final details are still “being negotiated”. In the last year and a half, Banc Sabadell has bought the former Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo, the business activity of Caixa Penedès (part of Banco Mare Nostrum) and now Banco Gallego.

April 18, 2013 01:07 AM

Madrid-based Neinver to invest €80 million in a macro outlet in Greater Barcelona

CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The new retail outlet mall will create 1,000 new jobs. The Spanish company has bought a plot of land of 25,000 square metres from the Catalan Government to build the macro shopping centre in Viladecans, near Barcelona El Prat Airport. The mall will have top brands at low prices and it is expected to attract not only locals but also many tourists. The land had been reserved since 2006 for the creation of a business hub for companies related to the aero-spatial and mobility sectors, but the project was finally aborted due to the economic crisis. Greater Barcelona already has a similar mall 30 km north of the Catalan capital, while the new macro outlet will be less than 15 km south.

April 17, 2013 12:52 AM

Catalan exports grow in Australia, Latin America and Northern Africa

CNA / Josep Ramon Torné / Marta Raich

54% of Catalonia’s external sales go to the international market while the remaining 46% go to the rest of Spain. The number of Catalan companies which sold their products outside of Spain in 2012 was 45,000 enterprises, representing a 6.3% increase in relation to the 2011 figures and 11,554 more companies than at the start of the economic crisis. The export sector represented €58.28 billion, which was 28% of Catalonia’s GDP in 2012. The figure represented a 5% increase compared to 2011 and a 15% growth on data from before the economic crisis. Sales outside the European Union increased by 16% last year, especially in Oceania (61%), Africa (24%) and Latin America (21%).

April 17, 2013 12:07 AM

CaixaBank has integrated all Banca Cívica’s operational and technological systems

CNA

With the operation, the Barcelona-based bank, has more than 6,000 branches throughout Spain for the first time. CaixaBank, which tops the Spanish retail banking market, acquired Banca Cívica in August, which was the merger of five savings banks: Caja Navarra, Cajasol, Caja Guadalajara, Caja Canarias and Caja Burgos. From now on, all the branches, ATMs, IT systems, accounts and other financial products from all the five previous savings banks will be integrated into CaixaBank’s business. CaixaBank has adapted 1,170 ATMs from Banca Cívica, reaching a total number of 10,000 ATMs distributed throughout Spain.

April 16, 2013 12:41 AM

Tarragona’s Port increased its activity by 4.2% in 2012

CNA / Roger Segura

The Port of Tarragona moved 33 million tonnes of goods in 2012, slowly recovering the goods volume it had before the economic crisis. However it has not yet reached the 36 million tonnes it received in 2007. Tarragona is the second largest Catalan harbour and it is the fourth port with the most activity in Spain. It mostly specialises in bulk transport of solids and liquids, mostly cereal and petrochemical products. Furthermore, last year it enlarged its chemicals dock, reclaiming 18 hectares from the sea. The companies Vopak Terquimsa and CLH have confirmed they will operate from the enlarged dock. In addition, the port wants to attract cruisers and US military ships in the years to come.

April 13, 2013 12:01 AM

Retail multinational Mango increased its turnover by 20% in 2012

CNA

The Catalan clothing company Mango had a €1.69 billion turnover last year, which is a 20% increase on 2011 data. 84% of the company’s revenue comes from outside Spain. During 2012, the Catalonia-based company opened 197 shops or retail corners worldwide, 180 of which were outside Spain. By the end of the year, Mango had 2,600 shops in 107 countries, with more than 12,000 employees all over the world. In 2013, the Catalan company will enter four new markets: Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Mongolia and Zimbabwe. In addition, it has planned to invest €265 million in opening new selling points, reforming shops and improving its logistics and information systems.

April 11, 2013 12:02 AM

Vueling’s Board accepts the new takeover conditions offered by British Airways-Iberia

CNA

IAG, the merger between British Airways and Iberia, improved its offer on Vueling’s shares, increasing from a price of €7 per share to €9.25. The board of the Barcelona-based airline considers the new conditions to be “reasonable” and have decided to recommend that the shareholders accept the offer. In fact, some Board members, such as Vueling’s President Josep Piqué have announced that they will sell their shares to IAG. Iberia already controls 45.85% of Vueling and IAG’s aim is to completely control the Catalan airline. Therefore, the takeover is on the condition that they are able to acquire at least 4.16% of Vueling’s shares, which would mean that IAG would control at least 50.01% of the Barcelona-based airline. The deadline to accept the offer expires on the 19th of April.

April 10, 2013 01:16 AM

Read the latest updates and breaking news on business and economic matters from Barcelona and Catalonia here. Keep up to date with how the Catalan economy is performing, inflation levels, employment and unemployment, major business mergers, important company announcements, and the latest on Catalonia’s biggest enterprises such as Vueling, Wallbox, Grifols, Mango, and plenty of start-ups and international firms based here too.