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MADRID (Reuters) - The main shareholder of FCC (MC:FCC) - a vehicle controlled by former chairman Esther Koplowitz - is open to reducing its majority stake in the Spanish builder to 30 percent to seal a debt refinancing, Spanish media reported on Saturday.
Koplowitz, whose family still runs the company, is racing to refinance about 1 billion euros (0.78 billion pounds) of debt attached to B-1998, the vehicle which holds 50.1 percent of FCC.
After discussions with bank creditors, one option on the table to secure a deal would be for Koplowitz to sell on preferential subscription rights which fall to her as part of a planned share sale by FCC to existing investors, El Economista newspaper and Europa Press reported.
Selling those would reduce Koplowitz's holding in FCC once the rights issue, aimed at reducing FCC's debts, goes ahead. It would also help her raise funds to satisfy creditors involved in the B-1998 refinancing.
FCC could not be reached for comment.
Sixty-one-year-old Koplowitz - who handed over chairmanship of FCC to her daughter Esther Alcocer Koplowitz last year but is still first vice chairman of the board - has been negotiating with banks for months over B-1998's loans.
She lost one of her main sources of income for covering interest payments when FCC stopped paying dividends in December 2012.
The B-1998 vehicle missed a debt payment in September. BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Bankia (MC:BKIA) are the main creditors.
Koplowitz, whose father founded FCC, faces other headaches related to B-1998's structure, as some small investors in that vehicle also want out, Spanish media have reported.
(Reporting by Robert Hetz,; Writing by Sarah White,; Editing by Stephen Powell)