Manuel Lao sells 5.12% of Sacyr for 150.8 million euros

BarcelonaManuel Lao has decided to divest his stake in the construction company Sacyr. One of Catalonia's wealthiest men and former owner of the Cirsa gaming empire has sold his 5.12% stake in Sacyr for €150.8 million. The transaction was carried out through a placement among investors at €3.70 per share, as reported to the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).

Lao held his shares through the company Nerifan, SL, which was in turn controlled by the investment group owned by this businessman, Nortia Capital. The transaction involved the placement of 40.8 million Sacyr shares. Citi acted as coordinator of the sale and sole placement agent.

The businessman entered Sacyr shortly after the pandemic with approximately 3% of the capital, which he later increased to more than 5%. Now, after these years, he has decided to sell. Manuel Lao Hernández is the third richest person in Catalonia, with 1.7 billion euros, according to the magazine Forbes.

Once sold After being sold to US giant Blackstone in 2018 for over €2 billion, Lao has continued to build his portfolio through Nortia Capital. In addition to Sacyr, Lao holds stakes in Merlin, as well as real estate investments such as the building on Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona that houses Casa Seat and the Pulitzer hotels. He also retained casinos and resorts in Latin America, which he did not sell to Blackstone. Nortia is also part of the Hyperion fund, headed by former PP leader Pablo Casado and Ricardo Gómez-Acebo, nephew of Ana Botín (Santander).