Advent considers Aldeasa bid

John Gallagher

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As the GEA consortium's bid for the Spanish retailer is given the go-ahead by the Spanish stock exchange, Dufry Group owner Advent is mulling a bid of its own

The Comisión Nacional del Mercado deValores (CNMV), the regulatory body of the Spanish stock exchange, has given its approval to the Aldeasa takeover bid presented by the Gestión de Explotaciones Aeroportuarias (GEA) consortium on December 13. In an official statement issued last night, when trading in the Madrid market had closed for the day, the CNMV said that the Eu29 ($37.70) per share offer presented by the consortium complied with current legislation and that the back-up information was sufficient to allow shareholders to decide whether to accept the offer. The Aldeasa board has 10 days to study the offer and make a recommendation to shareholders.

Aldeasa shares closed at Eu32.22 ($41.80) yesterday evening, a new closing high, after touching Eu32.70 ($42.50) in mid-afternoon trading. Market analysts suggested that the closing price and the volume traded indicated expectation of a counter offer, a theory that was lent added weight today when Dufry Group owner Advent International confirmed that it would consider a bid.

Senior Dufry executives Julián Díaz and José Antonio Gea spent part of their professional careers at Aldeasa and both have intimate knowledge of how the Spanish airport system works. Sources close to Dufry indicated that a decision to go ahead could be taken at a board meeting today (Wednesday).