MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Ferrovial, which plans to move its holding company to the Netherlands, is handing control of a new subsidiary in Madrid to its chairman's son, an official document showed.
Ferrovial International SE (FISE) appeared in the official Spanish registry of business entities on Thursday, the day shareholders overwhelmingly voted in favour of the move abroad designed to pave the way for its shares to be also listed in the United States, improving liquidity and access to financing.
The Spanish government has criticised the infrastructure building and its chairman, Rafael Del Pino, calling the Dutch domicile plan ungrateful and hampering Spain's interests while arguing that a Spain-based company can list its shares in the United States, although there are no such precedents.
Del Pino told shareholders at Thursday's general meeting that the company, which gets 82% of its revenue from abroad, was sticking to its Spanish roots.
"Ferrovial is not leaving Spain...it has always been our country and we are not giving it up," he said.
In an apparent sign of its continued commitment to Spain, Del Pino's son, Ignacio Del Pino, will be in charge of FISE, which is described as the "first subsidiary of foreign company" in the business registry.
The unit shares its name with the Dutch subsidiary that will absorb the mother company, Ferrovial, and become the headquarters of the holding, to be dual-listed in Madrid and Amsterdam before applying for a listing in the United States. Ferrovial will be delisted in Spain.
The new Madrid-based subsidiary was created with an initial capital of 60,000 euros ($66,306.00), according to the official document.
($1 = 0.9049 euros)