Business

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.

The Spanish Airport Authority (AENA), which owns and manages Barcelona El Prat Airport, has issued the tender to allocate the construction and management of a golf course located between the sea beach and the airfield’s third runway for 30 years. The golf course will be 175,000 square meters and have 9 holes. It will be for the passengers’ use, mostly those who are transferring through El Prat Airport. It should be operational by summer 2014, profiting from some of the infrastructure of a previously existing golf course. The project will come with restaurants and shops, as well as rooms for relaxing or holding meetings. Furthermore, in the future a beach club might also be built. The aim is to raise Barcelona Airport’s attractiveness as an international hub connecting short- and medium-distance flights with intercontinental ones.

The exports of this sparkling wine very similar to Champagne reached 161 million bottles sold, representing an historical record. 41 million bottles went to non-European markets, such as China and Brazil. In Japan, the consumption of cava increased by 32%; in China, by 21%; and in the UK, by 12%. However, there is a continued loss in the Spanish market, with a drop in sales of 6.28% because of the crisis and the boycott of Catalan products. The 2012 bad domestic results followed a 8.7% drop in Spain in 2011. According to the Chairman of the Cava Regulatory Board, the global 2012 figures represent an excellent result considering the economic crisis and constitute results, he added, that unfortunately “many sectors would like to have.”

IAG, the airline formed after the merger of British Airways and Iberia, has improved its offer for the total takeover of Barcelona-based Vueling, one of the few airlines in Europe which has earned a profit in the last few years. Earlier this month, Vueling’s board rejected IAG’s offer, presented in November, as they considered it to be too low. Now, the shareholders have had the last word. IAG already controls 45.85% of Vueling. With the new offer, if IAG manages to control 50.01% of Vueling – despite it officially aiming to get 100% of the Catalan airline shares – the operation will go ahead.

The increase is the highest one registered in Catalonia over the last year. 3,751 home mortgage contracts were signed in January. At the end of 2012, the fiscal benefits for purchasing houses were diminishing and were non-existent by January. Despite this fact, there was a peak in the number of mortgage loans taken out. For the whole of Spain, the number of mortgage loan contracts signed in January reached 25,447, a 44.7% increase in relation to December last year. This is the highest increase since January 2007. Furthermore, the average price of the mortgages signed in January in Catalonia reached €110,418. In year-over-year terms, the number of mortgages signed in Catalonia in January 2013 was 18.58% lower than those signed in January 2012.

The Institut Català de Finances (ICF), the Catalan Government’s financial institution which offers credit, announced that it gave €1.7 billion in loans to 8,500 companies over the last two years in an Action Plan. The plan’s main objective is to foster economic activity and prevent companies from going bankrupt due to liquidity issues. 98% of those who received loans were SMEs and independent workers. The ICF’s Action Plan had the objective of injecting liquidity into the real economy, into the Catalan business network, while the private banks are going through their restructuring process and access to credit is particularly difficult for many companies.

The fashion label Desigual based in Barcelona has obtained a €200 million line of credit from different banks. This financial support will be used to finance international expansion as well as plans for a new logistical centre in Vilamoura (Barcelona). Leading this investment is the Catalan bank CaixaBank, mostly owned by La Caixa. Under the slogan “Desigual – It’s not the same” the label wants to focus on continual improvements, innovation, engagement, tolerance, positivism and fun. Within this slogan now Desigual is trying to attain a more international status, enlarging its current team of 2,900 people from 72 different nationalities.

According to the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE), the Catalan GDP fell by 1% last year. However, according to the Catalan Statistics Institute (Idescat), it dropped by 1.3%. Regarding Spain’s economy, the INE declared that it fell by 1.4% while the Idescat indicates it plummeted by 1.9%. The reason for these differences is that data from both institutes are based on estimates and are still provisional. In any case, Catalonia is one of the Autonomous Communities with the mildest recession in Spain and continues to be that with the highest GDP, €198.63 billion. In addition, Catalonia is among those with the highest GDP per capita, set at €27,248 while the Spanish average was €22,772.

The IBM Group has opened a software development centre in Reus, a city in Southern Catalonia near the Costa Daurada and Tarragona. The new centre will initially employ 50 highly-qualified professionals, mostly graduates from the local Rovira Virgili University. However, the plan is to reach 100 workers in one year’s time and 250 in two years. The company envisages they might even end up employing up to 450 people in Reus, but they have refused to make any commitment on such an ambitious target. The centre will initially have a 700,000 euro investment and will occupy 600 square metres, but double this space will be used after its enlargement.

Booking.com is a Dutch hotel and accommodation booking company. Leader in its sector, it has decided to open in Barcelona one of its 5 customer support centres worldwide. In the context of the current economic crisis, the arrival of the company in the Catalan capital is positive because Booking.com has announced that the opening will create 250 jobs. Catalan Business Minister Felip Puig emphasised that the decision of the Dutch company proves that “Barcelona and Catalonia are attracting poles”.

The Board of Directors of the Catalan airline Vueling has rejected the offer of 7 euros per share made by IAG, the group which resulted from the merger of British Airways and Iberia. Vueling’s Board considered the price to be too low. IAG’s takeover was offering a 27.97% bonus in November, but Vueling’s shares have significantly increased their value since then and IAG has not improved its offer. The Catalan company is one of the few European airlines to turn a profit over these last few years. Now Vueling shareholders will have the last word on the decision as to whether they accept IAG’s offer.

Between the 11th and 13th of March, Barcelona will host the spring meeting of Bio-Europe, the continent’s largest partnering conference of the global biotechnology industry, for the second time. 1,300 biomedical companies will participate in the event, with more than 2,000 delegates and executives. 60 out of the 100 Spanish companies attending are from Catalonia. In the last decade, Catalonia, particularly the Greater Barcelona area, has become the most important centre in Southern Europe within the biomedical field and one of the main centres internationally. Barcelona’s Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs, Sònia Recasens, praised the importance of the event as it boosts those “added-value sectors that are strategic for the city’s economic growth”.

The company, which is based in Greater Barcelona, is the world’s third leader in blood derivatives pharmaceutical products. Last year, it bought out its main competitor in the United States, Talecris. Grífols had a €2.62 billion turnover in 2012 and almost doubled its sales compared to the 2011 figures. The company’s net profit last year quadruples that of 2011. The good results are due to a significant reduction in debt levels and Grífols’ penetration into the United States market. Besides, this week it announced it bought for €37 million the 60% of Progenika Biopharma’s capital, a Basque biotechnology company specialised in the design of diagnostic tests.

Seat, which is owned by Volkswagen, will assemble the new car in its Greater Barcelona plant. The new León SC has a more coupé design, with three doors, and will be on sale by May. It comes after last year’s launch of the five-door Seat León at the Paris Car Fair. James Muir, the President of Seat, stated that the brand will “explore new territories” with the new model, which has “dynamic” bodywork. According to Muir, this “guarantees the pleasure of driving” without diminishing “functionality”. The Catalan car manufacturer has also confirmed that it will stop building its Seat Exeo saloon car model as of July. In 2012, Seat posted overall losses, due to a drop in the Spanish market, and now Germany is fast becoming its main market.

The Barcelona-based company Applus+, partially-owned by the Carlyle Group and specialized in automobile technical inspections, reports and certificates, has bought the Chinese company EDI. The transaction, whose cost is unknown, allows the company to increase its capacity in the Asian market. The acquisition of local companies is one of the usual tactics by the Catalan corporation to reach new markets worldwide. Applus+ is present in 65 countries already and most of its revenue comes from international markets. Besides, the operation reinforces Barcelona’s position as an international centre of the automation industry.