By Dominic Chopping
STOCKHOLM–Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden said Monday that it has entered exclusive talks to sell its remaining 51% stake in its Nordic education portfolio to Brookfield Asset Management and receive repayment of a SEK14.5 billion Swedish kronor ($1.35 billion) intercompany loan.
The property company–known as SBB–last year agreed to sell a 49% stake in the portfolio to Brookfield for up to SEK10.4 billion in a deal that saw its social-infrastructure portfolio for public education, which includes preschools, elementary schools, upper-secondary schools and universities, transferred into a new subsidiary called EduCo.
SBB has now entered talks to sell its remaining stake in SBB EduCo and receive repayment of the intercompany loan it provided as debt financing to SBB EduCo.
The company expects to enter a share-purchase agreement in July, subject to regulatory clearance, with the proposed deal seeing SBB retain the right to acquire shares in EduCo in the future.
SBB has been hit by the sharp increase in interest rates and has moved to sell and spin out portions of its property portfolio to raise cash. It has also postponed payment of its dividend, a move it decided to make after an S&P downgrade saw shares sell off and forced the company to shelve plans to launch a rights issue.
Founder Ilija Batljan stepped down as chief executive earlier this month as the heavily indebted Swedish landlord started a broad review of its strategic options.
“The decision to enter exclusive discussions to sell EduCo is a strategically important decision for SBB which enables the creation of additional maneuvering room in these challenging times,” recently appointed Chief Executive Leiv Synnes said.
“A sale of EduCo would entail that SBB enhances its liquidity and is able to reduce its indebtedness,” he said.
Shares have lost three quarters of their value this year but rose 21% in early trade Monday.
Write to Dominic Chopping at [email protected]
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