Mexican tycoon to launch takeover bid for Spanish builder FCC

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim’s holding company Inversora Carso said Friday it would launch a bid for all of Spain’s debt-laden construction group FCC.

The company said in a statement sent to Spanish stock market regulator CNMV it would pay 7.60 euros ($8.36) for each share of FCC which it does not already own.

Inversora Carso said it had increased its stake in FCC to 36.6 percent after a 709.5-million-euro rights issue and was required to launch the takeover bid.

Under Spanish law, any shareholder that raises its stake in a company above 30 percent is required to launch a full bid for this company.

A property boom lasting a decade had driven FCC to invest heavily, but the market collapsed in 2008, leaving it with staggering debt.

The company has sought to diversify its business into sectors other than construction and now gets part of its earnings from environmental services such as waste management.

Telecoms magnate Slim is the world’s fourth-richest man, with a net worth of around $50 billion, according to Forbes.