Bankia sells its 4.94% stake in Iberdrola

Bankia has completed the sale of its 4.94% stake in Iberdrola for €1.53 billion, or €4.85 a share. The transaction netted the state-owned bank capital gains of €266 million.

The nationalized lender used an accelerated book build to sell its stake in the utility to large institutional investors. Citigroup, UBS and Beka were the joint book runners.

Following this divestment, Bankia has made €3.95 billion since it began shedding its corporate investments in late 2012. Total capital gains total €780.2 million.

The transaction closed with a 3% percent discount on Iberdrola’s closing price of €5 on Wednesday. So far this year, the electricity company’s value has grown 7.92%, although when trading was resumed on Thursday its shares fell by 3%.

Bankia chief José Ignacio Goirigolzarri had been saying for months that the time had come for the bailed-out lender to divest itself of this asset. In a recent interview, the banker stated that the time was right because the financial markets have opened up after being “very closed.”

Bankia, which received €22 billion in public funds, has already sold its stakes in Indra (it held 20 percent), IAG (12 percent) and Mapfre (12 percent), among other large corporations.