Taking the pain in Spain

7 October 2011 By Fiona Maharg-Bravo

The Spanish media group’s core shareholders have injected 150 million euros of capital after exercising warrants at a loss. Even this act of charity doesn’t solve Prisa’s debt problem. But it might sway Prisa’s lenders to be more flexible on the repayment of 3.2 bln euros of borrowings.

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Prisa, the Spanish media group and owner of the El Pais newspaper, will receive 150 million euros from core shareholders converting warrants to shares. The Polancos, the founding family, agreed to convert 75 million warrants into shares, with Liberty sponsors Nicholas Buergren and Martin Franklin providing the rest.
Liberty, the special acquisitions vehicle, injected 650 million euros in capital last year as part of a deal to put Prisa’s finances on sounder footing. The deal included an issue of warrants to existing shareholders. In the annual shareholder meeting in June, the Polanco family - which owns 70 percent of the warrants - said it would exercise the warrants as soon as possible. The warrants expired three and half years from their issuance last year.

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