Spanish Firm Abenojar Tungsten Poised for London IPO Amid Big Yellow Takeover Pressure

A Spanish mining company, Abenojar Tungsten, is preparing to list its shares in London, a move that signals a potential boost for the City's stock exchange. The company is expected to join the FTSE 250 index with an initial public offering valuing it at over £500 million. Confirmation of the fundraising of £150 million for the development of the El Moto tungsten mine in central Spain is anticipated shortly.

This potential listing follows the recent £5.3 billion flotation of African mobile payments firm Airtel Money, which was the largest listing in London in five years. Abenojar Tungsten, established three years ago by the Garcia San Miguel mining family, is developing the El Moto mine, designated an EU strategic project under the Critical Raw Materials Act. The mine, which is scheduled to begin production this year, is projected to supply a fifth of Europe's tungsten, a critical material for the aerospace and defense industries. The price of tungsten has seen a significant increase since China, which controls 80 percent of global supply, imposed export controls last year.

Approximately 10 percent of Abenojar Tungsten's shares will be traded in London, with dealings expected to commence the week after next. The City has experienced a notable decline in new listings in recent years, leading to discussions about its ongoing role as a global financial center for capital raising.

Meanwhile, the self-storage group Big Yellow is facing increased pressure from two U.S. activist funds to explore a potential sale. A website, unlockbigyellow.com, has emerged, highlighting that Big Yellow's shares are trading at a 40 percent discount to its net asset value. This website is supported by advisors to Ancora, an Ohio-based fund that has held meetings with Big Yellow prior to publicly launching its campaign. Both Ancora and New York-based Irenic hold a 4 percent stake in Big Yellow, the leading brand in the UK warehouse storage sector.

Big Yellow operates 115 warehouses in London, offering 6.9 million square feet of storage space, with plans to expand to 7.7 million square feet. However, its share price has declined by 11 percent this year, attributed to a slowdown in the housing market. The emergence of activist investors and the suggestion of a sale have reportedly led to double-digit gains in its share price.

Big Yellow, structured as a real estate investment trust (Reit) valued at £1.7 billion, has previously been a target for potential acquisitions. A year ago, Blackstone reportedly considered an offer, but talks failed to materialize over pricing. Ancora has indicated that Blackstone's potential offer was 50 percent higher than Big Yellow's current share price, though this was never publicly confirmed. Ancora has also named Blackstone and private equity firm KKR as potential