OHLA has asked its creditors to delay interest payments on its bonds until the planned capital increase of 150 million euros is approved. This move aims to protect the current shareholders and prevent a collapse of the group. In a filing to the CNMV, OHLA Operaciones, the company’s operating arm, requested bondholders holding the latest issue, maturing in 2025 and 2026, to waive certain rights in the terms and conditions that would allow postponing the next coupon payment. The outstanding amount related to these bonds runs up to 487 million euros.
OHLA is pursuing a 150 million euro capital increase in which, if successful, José Elías, the president of Audax, the Amodio brothers, OHLA’s major shareholders, and Mexican businessman Andrés Holzer are expected to contribute 50, 26, and 25 million euros respectively. The company announced this operation last June with an initial target of 100 million. While there was initial interest from the industrial group Atitlan and the fund Stoneshield, the company’s management rejected their overtures to join the ownership group.
Currently, OHLA has requested a “dead time” period coordinated by the debt restructuring team at The Bank of New York Mellon as it negotiates the new cash infusion. There is no set date yet for the financing, but it is intended to help the company reach a sustainable capital structure. People close to the company recently indicated that this financing would need to be secured soon because the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting that would approve the deal must be scheduled at least a month in advance. In the meantime, OHLA has returned to red numbers, reporting a 34.2 million euro loss in the first half of the year due to the impact of exchange rate differences and an agreement with the IFM fund that will require up to 74 million euros to be paid through 2030 for two concession disputes in Colombia and Peru.
Pending sale of Canalejas in Madrid
To reduce leverage and enable refinancing of the mentioned bonds, the company must also undertake the sale of the luxury Canalejas complex in central Madrid, adjacent to the Puerta del Sol. The property was renovated to house the first Four Seasons hotel in Spain, complemented by a shopping gallery featuring brands such as Cartier, Dior, Hermès, Rolex, Omega, and Louis Vuitton.
In June this year, OHLA reached an agreement with KKR to sell 25% of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Montreal and the subordinated debt tied to the concessionaire for 81.7 million Canadian dollars (about 54.9 million euros at current rates). This was another planned divestment aimed at pushing forward the company’s restructuring.