Spanish Merlin debuts on the Lisbon stock exchange on January 15th
Spanish Merlin Properties will make its debut on the Lisbon stock exchange on January 15th through a dual-listing process.
About three months after announcing its intention to enter the Lisbon Stock Exchange, Spanish SOCIMI Merlin Properties already has a date. It is on January 15th that the stock market will have another listed, specializing in real estate. This is the first step of the company, which has been operating in the national market for about four years and intends to create an Investment and Real Estate Management Company (SIGI) — the Portuguese version of Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).
“On this day, Thursday, Euronext Lisbon decided to admit the shares representing Merlin’s capital to the regulated market of Euronext in Lisbon through the direct listing procedure (dual-listing). The actual listing and trading of the shares on Euronext Lisbon will take place on January 15th, 2020,” as stated in the statement sent by the company to the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV).
“It is a natural step of the company that, more than having Spanish DNA, wants to have Iberian DNA. This presence in the Lisbon Stock Exchange is in line with our DNA and our nature,” says João Cristina to ECO, general manager of Merlin Properties in Portugal.
With this operation, the company expects to be “seen as a local player,” given that almost 10% of Merlin’s portfolio is in Portugal, but the goal is to increase this amount to 15%. This “will allow investors to buy our shares through Euronext Lisbon”, as the transaction costs would be higher if they bought through the Spanish exchange.
On a possible entry to the PSI-20, João Cristina explains that “this admission is not automatic” and does not depend only on Merlin. But there is, of course, this will. “We hope, eventually, to climb the PSI-20. But, initially, that’s not where we’re going to be, unfortunately.”
Merlin’s intention to enter the Lisbon stock exchange was long overdue and the official announcement was even made in October. However, the completion of the operation happened later than expected, as the company was aiming for the end of 2019.
