OHL Desarrollos and GVM sell a 50% stake in Centro Canalejas Madrid to the businessman Mark Scheinberg for 225 million Euro

OHL Desarrollos (OHLD) and Grupo Villar Mir (GVM) sold 50% of Centro Canalejas Madrid to Mohari Limited, a company controlled by the businessman Mark Scheinberg, for a total of 225 million Euro. The sale was done in a proportional manner by the current shareholders, with OHL Desarrollos selling 17.5% and GVM 32.5%. The acquisition’s closure is subject to compliance with the habitual conditions for this kind of operations.

After the operation, OHL Desarrollos and GVM will remain in the company with a participation of 17.5% and 32.5% respectively, and will retain control of project management until its inauguration, scheduled for early 2019. 

This transaction demonstrates the attractiveness of Madrid as an investment destination for important foreign investors, and shows the value of the touristic potential of the Spanish capital, that has witnessed a significant increase in foreign investment in 2016, based on data collected by the foreign investments registry of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Proyecto Canalejas will constitute the first hotel and residential project led by the Four Seasons brand in Spain. 

OHL Desarrollos and GVM have received numerous expressions of interest of prestigious potential investors for the acquisition of a participation in Centro Canalejas Madrid, which has enabled this operation to proceed successfully, in compliance with the established asset rotation policy, and showing the success of the strategy of investing in the development of singular and historic buildings within urban centers.

The shareholders

Grupo Villar Mir is a Spanish industrial group, privately owned, which was originated by the entrepreneurial, business, and innovative vision of its founder and president, D. Juan-Miguel Villar Mir. The history of Grupo Villar Mir starts in 1987 with the acquisition of Inmobiliaria Espacio, S.A., and the construction company Sociedad General de Obras y Construcciones Obrascón, S.A. Since then, and to the current date, different sector companies (real estate, electrometallurgy, production and sale of electric power, fertilizers, construction, concessions and services) have been incorporated into the Group, both in Spain and abroad, and frequently through the acquisition of companies that were facing complex situations. Grupo Villar Mir is currently present in 39 countries in 5 continents, with a strong focus on the consolidation of different sectors and an RDI strategy.

OHL Desarrollos is the development branch of Grupo OHL, born in 2001 as an autonomous line of business within the Group, with the objective of diversifying its activities and boosting singular projects related to the tourism-hotel sector, both in the urban and holiday segments. Currently, OHL Desarrollos has acquired a broad experience and reputation and includes three large project in its assets: Mayakoba in the Mayan Riviera (Mexico), Centro Canalejas in Madrid (Spain) and the Old War Office in London (United Kingdom).

Mohari Limited is a company fully owned by D. Mark Scheinberg, a businessman and investor of Israeli origin and a resident of the Isle of Man, who, after founding the company Poker Stars in 2001, managed to make it the largest online Poker company in the world working as its General Manager, with operations in more than 100 countries and more than 1500 employees. After selling the company in 2014, Mr. Scheinberg started focusing his investments mainly in the real estate sector around the world. He recently said he is very enthusiastic about the project being developed in Canalejas, as it is projected as the most prestigious in Spain, and even in Europe; he also firmly believes in the growth potential of the real estate market in Madrid. In addition, after this operation, he hopes to develop a strategic relationship with his new partners, both in OHL Desarrollos and Grupo Villar Mir, because of their broad international reach and the fact that they constitute one of the best-positioned and highly reputed development and construction groups in Spain.

Centro Canalejas is the owner of the project known as Proyecto Canalejas, a development with high technical complexity, which seeks to convert a complex of historical buildings of about 50,000 m2, located in the confluence of the Alcalá, Sevilla, Plaza de Canalejas and Carrera de San Jeronimo streets, in a novel Mixed Use Project that will revitalize the Madrid city center, with a new 204-room hotel operated by Four Seasons, 22 private residences with hotel services (Four Seasons Branded Residences), an exclusive commercial gallery of about 9,000 m2 (La Galeria de Canalejas), a modern 400-spot underground parking lot, and a commercial office for banking use.