Troubled SBB (SBBb.ST), a Swedish real estate corporation, announced late Thursday that it has sold the majority of its shares in JM (JM.ST) for 2.8 billion Swedish crowns ($275.8 million).
The purchase provides SBB with much-needed cash after the business canceled a share offering earlier this week after ratings agency S&P Global downgraded the company’s debt to “junk” status.
Rising interest rates, surging inflation, and rising debt have harmed Swedish real estate enterprises, which regulators perceive as a threat to financial stability.
SBB’s stock is down 62% year to date.
The business said that it has sold 19 million shares in JM, representing a 29.5% ownership, at a price of 148.1 Swedish crowns per share, lowering SBB’s stake to just 2.9%.
“The sale enables a focus on the company’s core business and further strengthening of SBB’s financial position,” said SBB founder and CEO Ilija Batljan in a statement.
While SBB stated that it was still working on prospective asset sales, its chairman recently rejected in a media interview that the company will divest from JM.
According to SBB, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB) served as the sole global coordinator and bookrunner in the share transaction.
$1 equals 10.1526 Swedish crowns