The board of directors of Gathered Techniques has agreed to launch a capital increase of 150 million euros aimed at reducing its debt, strengthening its capital and intensifying the decarbonisation of its activity with new low-carbon technologies.
As the Spanish engineering company has informed the National Stock Market Commission (CNMV), both the Lladó family and Cobas AM, which control 43% of the capital, have expressed their irrevocable commitment to subscribe to this capital increase.
Also, Azvalor AM, owner of 6.08% of the share capital, has also communicated to Gathered Techniques its intention to maintain its current percentage of participation after the capital increase, although without having entered into an irrevocable commitment.
The operation will consist of the issue of 24,405,265 new shares with preferential subscription rights for shareholders, equivalent to 43.7% of the current capital or 26.4% of its market capitalization.
The operation is advised and secured by Barclays, BBVA, HSBC, Santander and Société Générale as global coordinators; Uría Menéndez Abogados, SLP and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as legal advisors; Linklaters, SLP, as legal advisors to the global coordinators; AZ Capital and STJ Advisors as financial advisors, and Georgeson as information agent.
“I am the first convinced. We are facing a unique growth opportunity for Gathered Techniques, the company that my father founded 60 years ago and that now employs nearly 7,000 people who share the excitement of this project every day. As the representative of the first shareholder, I will be the first to second it: we undertake to underwrite the capital increase and spare no effort to develop this company with the same faith and the same momentum that we have maintained since its foundation” , has defended its executive chairman, Juan Lladó
Approximately one third of the resources raised through this operation will be used to optimize the adjusted net cash position and another third to continue reducing the group’s debt level: specifically, 33.5 million to repay the syndicated ICO loan and 14 million to amortize the CESCE union financing contract.
Regarding the other third, it will be used to finance the operating expenses that the low-carbon technologies segment will require, in the current context of the energy transition, covering the projected annual cash needs of this segment for the years 2023, 2024 and 2025.
The company wants to strengthen its focus on decarbonisation, given that a global investment volume of 181 billion dollars (167,000 million euros) annually until 2030 to make the energy industry more ‘green’. In addition, the company will extend its activity to other sectors, such as steel and cement, which also plan to invest globally 178,000 million dollars (164,000 million euros) annually in decarbonization initiatives.
Currently, Gathered Techniques is working on offers for specific projects that add up to 70 billion dollars (65 billion euros) of investment. 75% of its awards in 2021 and 2022 were placed in a low risk profile and it has already saved around 140 million euros between 2019 and 2022 with its efficiency plan.
“We want to strengthen our financial situation to guarantee our place in the ‘pole position’ of this great revolution. This increase in capital will help us confirm ourselves as an international leader in the challenges of the energy sector and decarbonisation” , concluded its CEO, Eduardo San Miguel.