Codere embroiled in €900m shareholder row
Martinez Sampedro family aims to force public offer for embattled business from firm’s creditors over “civil conspiracy” claims
The founders of Spanish operator Codere have called on shareholders to approve a motion forcing the company’s creditors to make a €900m public offer for the struggling gambling operator.
In a document filed with Spain’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), the Martínez Sampedro family have asked to introduce a new item onto the agenda of the forthcoming shareholder meeting on 11 May.
This proposal, if given the green light, would commit the operator’s creditors to submit a public offer for €9.58 per share based on closing prices as of 12 January 2018, when the family were ousted from the business thanks to a consortium led by Codere shareholders and US hedge fund Silver Point Capital.
The Martínez Sampedro family transferred shareholding control to these funds in 2018, led by the American Silverpoint (21% of shareholding), but not management of the business.
The family has been embroiled in a bitter legal row with US hedge funds ever since, claiming that the parties involved should be made to launch a formal takeover for the business.
The petition to force a creditor takeover bid comes after a CNMV investigation found there had been no direct agreement between investors and the family over control of the company.
Furthermore, the family has claimed the investment funds are engaged in a “civil conspiracy” to take control of Codere without actually launching a takeover bid.
“In secret, they devised and planned a scheme, presented it as a transition plan that would result in fundamental changes in Codere’s structure and business,” lawyers acting for the family have said.
The family alleges collusion between Silver Point and Vicente Di Loreto, who was appointed CEO of Codere following the management changes in 2018.
In April, Codere reached an agreement with creditors to inject €225m into the ailing business. The creditors are majority holders of bonds currently issued in the company and the funding will be used to keep Codere afloat until a total reopening of its retail business and a return to normalised cash generation.