Ferrovial continues to advance in its two main business movements after moving its headquarters from Spain to the Netherlands. The first consists of the start of trading in New York and the second, in the sale of its 25% stake in Heathrow for 2.7 billion euros, which it plans to close this year despite the difficulties, the company announced at its meeting. today's shareholders.
"We hope it will be completed in 2024," said the company's president, Rafael del Pino, during the general meeting, the first outside of Spain, in which he described the divestment as "complex." The meeting was held in Amsterdam, at the H'Art museum, before a very small audience of just thirty people. It is much lower than the mass meeting a year ago, in which shareholders voted by an overwhelming majority in favor of moving the headquarters to the Netherlands.
Ferrovial announced in November its exit from the London airport's shareholding, through the sale of its stake to the French fund Ardian and the Saudi sovereign fund Public Investment Fund (PIF). However, several Heathrow shareholders, who account for 35% of the capital, have invoked their "right to accompany" and demand to sell in the same operation, which forces the terms of the divestment to be reviewed.
Del Pino has also informed the assembly that "the regulatory process" to begin listing in New York "is still underway." "The company is carrying out all regulatory reviews," he said. This operation will serve to generate "more value and liquidity" for the company, he added.
In his speech, the president of Ferrovial highlighted the company's stock market growth in 2023, with a revaluation of almost 35%, which shows that "the market supports" the project to change headquarters. He also insisted on the company's positioning in the United States, where it invested about 320 million euros last year, 70% of the total.
There were no interventions by shareholders during the meeting. The auditor, EY, did appear to report on the status of the accounts. Among other things, the approval has been given for the distribution of a dividend charged to last year's accounts of 0.75 euros per share, 8% higher than the previous year.
