US investment group Varde sells half its stake in Crest Nicholson
VARDE, the US investment group that at one stage was the controlling shareholder in Crest Nicholson, yesterday announced it had sold half its stake in the housebuilder which floated at the beginning of last year.
Varde reported to the London Stock Exchange last night it intended to sell 25m shares in the company through an accelerated bookbuild, using JP Morgan and Barclays as joint bookrunners. Lazard gave Varde independent advice on the deal.
Varde is believed to have sold the shares for close to £90m, given that Crest Nicholson’s shares closed the day at 380.7p. This compares to a float price of 220p.
Assuming the shares are sold in full, Varde will be left with a 10 per cent stake in the company.
It has agreed not to sell further shares for a 90 day lock-up period, subject to exceptional circumstances.
Varde and Deutsche Bank sold a 13.5 per cent stake in the group last September when the price was around 320p a share.
Minneapolis based Varde bought 60 per cent of Crest Nicholson’s equity in 2011 following the conversion of the group’s then £500m ($789m) of debt into shares.