The Serra family secures control of more than 90% of the Western insurance group
The takeover bid launched through the family company Inocsa reaches 35.79% of the capital and achieves 97.82% with the aim of exiting the stock exchange
BarcelonaThe Serra family has secured control of over 90% of the Occidente insurance group (formerly Catalana Occidente). The takeover bid launched by Inocsa, the company controlled by this family, for Grupo Catalana Occidente (GCO), of which they already held 62.03%, has been completed with the acceptance of 35.79% of the share capital. This gives them control of 97.82% of the capital and allows them to achieve their goal of taking the company private. Excluding the 74.44 million immobilized shares, representing 62.03% of the share capital, Inocsa's takeover bid was accepted by 42,950,477 shares, representing 94.27% of the shares targeted by the offer. "Consequently, the public offer has been successful, since the number of shares included in the acceptance declarations exceeded the minimum threshold set by the offeror for its effectiveness," the company stated. The minimum acceptance threshold was 15,671,159 shares. The cash portion was accepted for 38,010,278 shares, and the exchange portion for 4,940,199 shares. On October 21, Inocsa decided to increase the consideration offered for the takeover bid of GCO to €49.75 per share, an improvement of €0.75 over the initial price. The other option was an exchange of one newly issued Class B share of Inocsa for every 43.9446 GCO shares, with a reference price for one new Class B share of Inocsa of €2,186.24.
Inocsa has stated that it will exercise its right to a forced sale if the established thresholds are met, which would entail the delisting of GCO shares from the stock exchanges. The company, which moved its headquarters to Madrid in 2017 during the height of the Catalan independence movement, posted consolidated earnings of €614.2 million through September, representing a 6.9% increase compared to the same period of the previous year. Turnover increased by 4.7% to €4.77 million. Of this €4.77 million, the former Catalana Occidente and its subsidiaries—NorteHispana, Plus Ultra Seguros, and Seguros Bilbao—are owners of Crédito y Caución, Atradius, and the funeral services company Mémora.
