Spanish lender Ibercaja is reportedly planning to launch its initial public offering (IPO) as early as January 2022 to meet the government’s bailout conditions.
The lender is in talks with advisors for the potential IPO, Reuters reported citing sources.
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“The bank has resumed contacts with potential investors and analysts and is currently in touch with advisers to sound out a market debut in January, which is among the first windows to kick off the process,” the source told the publication.
As per the terms of the bank bailout after the 2012 financial crisis, Spanish banks such as Ibercaja are required to go public or raise funds to dilute stakes held by foundations by the end of 2022.
The bank’s board has not yet cleared the investor roadshow in January, the source informed.
The news about the roadshow was first reported by the Spanish newspaper Expansion.
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By GlobalDataIbercaja, which has €58bn ($65.6bn) in assets, is also considering March and May for the investor roadshow, the sources added.
As per Expansion’s earlier report, the lender could be valued between €1.65bn and €2.1bn, which would be equating to 0.5-0.65 times its €3.3bn book value.
In April this year, Ibercaja chairman Jose Luis Aguirre said that the bank will list its shares by the end of next year.
Last month, chief executive Victor Iglesias stated that market conditions would be “the most favourable” in the first half of the year.
Ibercaja has appointed Rothschild as the adviser for the proposed IPO while Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan are acting as global bookrunners.
Ibercaja bought Caja 3 in 2013 as part of efforts to strengthen the banking sector after the financial crisis.
Notably, the lender did not take any help but Caja 3 received €407m in European funds, which the bank has already repaid.
