By Jeannette Neumann
MADRID--Catalunya Banc SA, a nationalized Spanish lender, said
Friday it had sold its real-estate servicing unit to Blackstone
Group LP.
The bank said in a regulatory filing that Blackstone had made
the purchase for "a maximum of EUR40 million" ($55.6 million). It
said the exact price depends on whether certain conditions are met,
but didn't detail them.
An earlier attempt by Catalunya Banc to sell its real-estate
servicing unit failed. The sale of the unit is one step in a
broader strategy by the Spanish government to return the
nationalized bank to private hands.
Blackstone's purchase follows similar acquisitions by other
international investors in Spain.
Banco Santander SA, Spain's largest bank, sold its real-estate
servicing unit to Apollo Global Management LLC in January. Most
other major Spanish banks have sold theirs in recent months.
Real-estate servicing units, such as the one being sold by
Catalunya Banc, market and sell properties owned by the bank, such
as homes that have been foreclosed.
Catalunya Banc, whose bank-branches carry the name
CatalunyaCaixa, is based in Barcelona. The real-estate servicing
unit is called CatalunyaCaixa Inmobiliaria.
Catalunya Banc said in the regulatory filing that it had sold or
rented 6,000 properties in 2013.
Write to Jeannette Neumann at jeannette.neumann@wsj.com
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