Cuatrecasas and Uría Menéndez to advise on Spanish construction sale

Cuatrecasas and Uría Menéndez have secured the lead roles advising on the E1.09bn (£740m) sale of the controlling interest in Spanish construction group Corporacion Uniland.

The deal, in which a subsidiary of Spain's third-largest builder, Fomento de Construcciones & Contratas (FCC), purchased a 51 per cent controlling stake in Corporacion Uniland, has created the biggest cement company in Spain.

FCC purchased the stake from the controlling Rumeu and Fradera families through its Cementos Portland Valderrivas SA subsidiary through an entirely debt-financed deal. The shares were sold at E407.65 (£278.51) each.

Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders can sell a further 22.5 per cent of the company to Cementos Portland within the next five years, meaning Cementos Portland could soon own almost three-quarters of the company.

Uría Menéndez M&A associate Javier Hernandez, who assisted with advising Corporacion Uniland, described the deal as "a race against time", following rival bids from Titan Cement, Cementos Molins Industrial, Camargo Corrêa, and Votorantim.

Cuatrecasas partner Javier Villasante led the firm's team advising Cementos Portland. Deutsche Bank provided financial advice.

Uría Menéndez, led by M&A partner Candido Paz-Ares who was assisted by Hernandez, advised Corporacion Uniland. Lazard gave financial advice.

Clifford Chance advised Camargo Corrêa on its bid, while Votorantim was assisted by a team from Madrid firm Araoz & Rueda. Titan Cement was represented by Ashurst, while Cementos Molins Industrial was advised by Garrigues.