Savings banks mull sale of Itinere stake - Kutxa
MADRID, Nov 25 (Reuters) - The Basque savings banks BBK, Kutxa and Vital are considering the sale of their 8.1 percent stake in Spanish motorway company Itinere ITIE.MC to Sacyr (SVO.MC) for about 530 million euros ($682.3 million), a Kutxa spokesman said on Tuesday.
"We are studying selling our joint stake in Itinere and we have a commitment (to sell) to Sacyr," the spokesman said, confirming a report in newspaper Cinco Dias.
At the time of the merger between Itinere and other Spanish motorway firm Europistas in November 2006, the three savings banks agreed a sale option on their 8.1 percent in Itinere to its core shareholder Sacyr at a price of 9.15 euros per share, subject to certain adjustments.
The savings banks will book capital gains of some 371 million euros from the sale of the stake, the Kutxa spokesman said.
A Sacyr spokeswoman said the stake sale option can be exercised either between November 2008 and May 2009 or between November 2010 and May 2011.
The Spanish constructor has put up various assets for sale, including its 90.1 percent stake in Itinere, with the aim of reducing its heavy debt pile of over 18 billion euros.
It is also selling its 20 percent stake in Spanish oil group Repsol (REP.MC) and sources have said Russia's LUKOIL (LKOH.MM) is in talks to buy it.
The Itinere sale is taking longer than expected due to the lack of interested buyers, with only an infrastructure fund owned by Citigroup (C.N) still in the ring, said sources close to the matter.
In the event that Citigroup or Sacyr decides to sell off Itinere's motorways separately, various concessionary companies could be interested in buying them, the sources said.
"Citi is in talks not just with Sacyr, but also with other concessionaries to whom it could sell some of the motorways in Itinere's portfolio," said a source involved in the process.
"In the hypothetical case that there is no agreement with Citi, Sacyr could negotiate the sale of Itinere's assets directly with interested buyers," a local analyst said.
A source familiar with the operation said Barcelona-based motorway company Abertis (ABE.MC) is interested in three assets which it currently shares with Itinere.
Last week, a financial source said that Italy's Atlantia (ATL.MI) would be interested in buying Itinere's assets in Chile and Brazil. (Reporting by Jesus Aguado and Carlos Ruano; Writing by Judy MacInnes; Editing by Rupert Winchester)
