Repsol sells five percent of itself to Singapore’s Temasek for 1.036 bn. euros

Leading Spanish oil company Repsol on Monday said it had sold a 5.04-percent stake it held in itself in the form of treasury stock to Singapore sovereign fund Temasek for 1.036 billion euros.

“The agreement comprises the purchase of 64.7 million Repsol shares from the company’s treasury stock, at 16.01 euros per share,” Repsol said in a statement to the National Securities Commission (CNMV). The sale price was at a discount of around two percent to Repsol’s closing price on Friday 16.29 euros.

The transaction converts Temasek into the fourth-biggest shareholder in the Spanish oil firm with a 6.3-percent stake. “An investor as significant and prestigious as Temasek we regard as important international backing of our growth strategy,” Repsol Chairman Antonio Brufau said.

Repsol acquired 10 percent of itself at the end of 2011 from the creditor banks of Spanish builder Sacyr-Vallehermoso. It then sold 5 percent in the market at the start of last year. Repsol said it would book a capital loss on the deal of 148 million euros from the sale to Temasek.

Temasek, whose portfolio value is in excess of 115 billion euros, is increasing its exposure to the European energy industry with this investment in Repsol. “The sale to Temasek is part of Repsol’s aim to consolidate its shareholder structure with the incorporation of investors of accredited international prestige to accompany Repsol in its long-term industrial development,” the company said.