El Corte Inglés holds a meeting with Mutua as a shareholder and after the operation with the Qatari sheikh

MADRID, 22 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

El Corte Inglés will hold its general shareholders' meeting this Friday, July 22, after completing its alliance with Mutua Madrileña, which means the insurer's entry into the shareholding of the distribution group, with 8% of the capital, and announcing the repurchase of half of the shareholding from Primefin, a company linked to Qatari Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al Thani.

The shareholders' meeting, the first with Mutua Madrileña as a shareholder, will also take place under the new management structure, which involved the creation of a delegated executive committee, chaired by Marta Álvarez, after the departure of former CEO Víctor del Pozo, at the end of of last March.

Specifically, the shareholders' meeting will address the approval of the annual accounts, the management report and the proposal for the application of the result corresponding to the year ended February 28, 2022, duly audited.

El Corte Inglés recorded a net profit of 120 million euros during its fiscal year 2021-2022 (between March 2021 and February of this year), with which it returns to the path of profits after recording losses of 2,945 million euros a year earlier due to the impact of the Covid-19 health crisis.

The group closed its last fiscal year, ended on February 28, with a consolidated turnover of 12,508 million euros, which represents an increase of 21.93% over the previous year.

Likewise, the shareholders will foreseeably approve the management of the board of directors during the year ended February 28, 2022, while they will address the ratification of the purchase and sale operations carried out during the year with their own shares.

Other points that the shareholders' meeting will deal with are the appointment, re-election or dismissal, if applicable, of the members of the board of directors and the setting of the number of members, the approval of the remuneration of the board of directors and the authorization for the derivative acquisition of own shares and for the sale of treasury stock.

Following the agreement by which El Corte Inglés repurchases half of its shareholding from the Qatari investor, that is, 5.53% of the 11.07% it owned to date, for 387.1 million euros, the company Primefin He will remain a shareholder of the group, but it is possible that he will lose his seat on the group's board of directors, sources familiar with the operation have informed Europa Press.

The agreement between the parties involves valuing El Corte Inglés at around 7,000 million euros, in line with the latest corporate operations carried out, and also recognizes Primefin's contractual rights.

The company has explained that the repurchase of Primefin shares, from the loan made in the past, is part of the financial optimization of the company.

Likewise, the group chaired by Marta Álvarez has highlighted that the operation is carried out without an increase in debt and with its own resources, at a time when El Corte Inglés has strengthened its financial situation with the lowest level of debt in the last 15 years. .

The operation allows allocating the 5.53% acquired to reinforce the treasury stock of the group, which, after the operation, rises to 5.64%.

Following the agreement reached between the parties, the Qatari sheikh's company will adjust its rights to its new conditions and will remain a shareholder of El Corte Inglés with a 5.53% stake.

Along with the Qatari investor, who entered the capital of El Corte Inglés in 2015, the following are listed as shareholders: Fundación Ramón Areces (40.04%), IASA (18.4%), Ceslar (9.64%), Mancor (8, 04%), Mutua Madrileña (8%) and others (4.7%).