Merlin Properties, Spain’s largest real estate company, successfully completed a capital increase launched after market close through an accelerated private placement on Thursday morning. The company raised €767.6 million, which will be used to strengthen its data centre operations, according to a filing with the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).
Banco Santander and Nortia Capital, the company’s principal shareholders, holding 24.71% and 8.17% of the share capital respectively, have made an irrevocable commitment to subscribe to the capital increase pro rata to their existing holdings. They have also agreed not to dispose of their shares for a period of 60 days following completion of the transaction, subject to customary exceptions.
Gibson Dunn advised Merlin Properties on the transaction, marking one of the firm’s first mandates since establishing a presence in Madrid. The deal was led by partner Armando Albarrán.
Santander, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley acted as global coordinators for the capital increase, while BBVA, BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, Crédit Agricole and Société Générale acted as joint bookrunners.
During a meeting with investors, Merlin Properties outlined its investment plans for the coming years. The company expects to invest €4.47 billion between 2026 and 2030 as part of Phase III of its data centre expansion strategy. This phase will add 412 MW of capacity, including significant expansions in Bilbao and Lisbon, as well as the development of a new data centre in Zaragoza.
Merlin Properties anticipates that by 2032, 65% of its estimated annual revenue of €1.8 billion will derive from its data centre business, compared with 6% last year, as it advances the development of new facilities in Spain and Portugal.
Legal advisers
Merlin Properties:
- Gibson Dunn (Madrid and London): partners Armando Albarrán and Hugo Hernández-Mancha; associate Francesco Mancuso.
