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Meanwhile on the business side FCC seems to be recovering nicely, and its restructuring plans have so far to date borne reasonable fruit. Then just one month ago the company announced it had, as well, closed a deal with its corporate banking syndicate on the refinancing of US$6.2 billion (Euros 4.5 billion) of its parent company consolidated debt.
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This was a key milestone event in the strategic recovery plan that the troubled company put in place over a year ago; to refocus the business, to cut out non-performing businesses, to partially recapitalize the balance sheet and to reduce debt. Even so it will a number of years before it can significantly restore the company’s balance sheet.
Esther Koplowitz inherited half the shares in the firm from her father Ernest Koplowitz when he died, initially sharing control with her sister Alicia. Esther later bought out her sister’s 28.26% stake in FCC, in 1998, for over US$800 million (Euros 821 million at that time). Hence, quite possibly the name of her holding company itself, which is called simply “B-1998″ and representing the new beginning.
According to a report by Bloomberg last year, it seems that in November Esther Koplowitz had asked the boutique investment banking firm of Messier Maris & Associés, which is headed by former Vivendi Group CEO Jean-Marie Messier, to advise on reorganizing some of her own continued personal debt tied to her controlling stake in the company. It seems her bankers for the loans were two Spanish banks Banco Bilbao and Bankia SA.
As progress began to be made with FCC’s business recovery, international investors certainly took note. Microsoft founder Bill Gates holds a 5.74% position in FCC which he picked up last October in the regular stock market. George Soros then acquired about a 3% stake in the company through equity derivatives acquired from B-1998, a position he took just before year end, in late December. As his position is based on derivatives it is actually not formally disclosed under regular reporting regulations, even though over the normal 3% reporting threshold for Spanish companies.
With some other share sales from B-1998 at the time Soros came on board, this reduced the holding company’s stake then to just over 50% of FCC. This remains of course still a majority controlling position, and is now the jewel being offered to Soros within the framework of partnership.
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