PARIS (Reuters) - Carmila, the property unit of Europe's largest retailer Carrefour (PA:CARR), announced on Sunday a capital increase of 557 million euros (£490 million) to fund its future expansion.
The company said the capital increase would be priced in an indicative range of between 23 euros and 27 euros per share against a closing price of 30.50 euros for Carmila shares on June 23.
The size of the capital increase may be increased to around 632 million euros in case of full exercise of the over-allotment option, the statement said.
The move follows the merger earlier this month of Carmila with Cardety, a listed property unit also owned by Carrefour.
The newly merged company has been trading on the Paris stock market under the Carmila (PA:CARM) name since June 14.
It is the third-largest listed European retail property group with a portfolio including 205 shopping centres in France, Spain and Italy, and assets valued at 5.4 billion euros.
The aim of the capital increase is to fund the company's 2017-2020 development plan, including 37 extension projects, targeted acquisitions and the deployment of a digital marketing strategy aimed at supporting retailers in increasing revenues.
Outgoing Carrefour CEO Georges Plassat spearheaded the creation of Carmila in April 2014 as part of his strategy to revive the group's European hypermarkets by making them more attractive for shoppers.