One of the most discreet fortunes is becoming increasingly visible in the Spanish markets. The owners of Mayoral make as much or more money with the financial management of their assets than with clothing. Indumenta Pueri, the parent company of the well-known children’s textile brand, has managed to become an almost omnipresent investor in the Spanish stock market with the strategy of diversifying the income that has generated something as difficult as succeeding in textiles.
The Malaga Holding of the Domínguez Family has a presence in up to 18 listed companies of medium and small capitalization with -which is 700 thousand million euros, according to the data compiled by ‘La Información’ as of the current date. Banks, telecommunications, health, pharmacy, industry, trains, technology, textiles, logistics… The range of participants opens up to all kinds of sectors until they represent the majority of the economy.
Leaving aside Mayoral itself, the portfolio of the Domínguez de Gor and the Domínguez de la Maza is headed for the first time by Unicaja Banco, where they manage 5% of the capital that is valued on the stock market at 135 million euros. Next is 5% of the pharmaceutical company Laboratorios Rovi, which is now worth just over 130 million but was 10% higher in September.
The Miquel y Costas paper company, in which they have reached a percentage close to 15% of the capital, is their third largest position with 66 million euros and in fourth place is the Portuguese postal company CTT Portugal with 55 million and 10.5 %.
Upcoming divestment
Fifth place is a position that is being divested. This is the 6% that it owns in the energy company Opdenergy Holding and which is the target of a takeover bid for the entire French infrastructure fund Antin. The intention of the owners of Mayoral is to make cash before the forced liquidity window, since the majority shareholders of the company have already agreed to the sale to the fund.
The Domínguezes will earn just over 50 million euros from the sale of some securities that they acquired on the stock exchange of the Renewables Company in July 2022. THE GROSS TURNING IN THE 17 MONTHS THAT THEY WILL REMAIN THE SHAREHOLDING RISE ABOVE 23% AND WILL RETURN to fatten the treasury of Global Investment Portfolio, Pueri’s subsidiary, before the group finds a new destination for this money.
It is not the first time he has triumphed. In fact, three years ago, Pueri faced its largest capital inflow since they decided to take significant stakes of more than 5% of the capital in other companies.
At that time, the Domínguezes sold just over 8.3% of Masmóvil’s capital in the takeover bid that the venture capital giants KKR, Providence Cinven led together with the management team headed by Meinrad Spenger and the Spanish firm Inveready. The import on that occasion rose to 240 million euros.
With fresh money ready to invest, Indumenta Pueri, which operates its financial investments through Global Portfolio Investments and Wilmington Capital, has reinforced its presence in Spanish companies until it has almost twenty shares, although in the six largest they have two thirds of their capital.
The railway company CAF, the pharmaceutical company Faes Farma and the energy company Audax stand out, as well as Global Dominion, Renta 4 Banco, Atrys Health, GAM, Singular People, Azkoyen, Pangaea, Llorente y Cuenca, NBI Bearings and Parlem Telecom.
In 2022 alone, Pueri received more than 29 million euros from its investees in the form of dividends, 38% more than in 2021. For this year, the figure will far exceed that amount due to the good performance of Rovi and Unicaja, among others. The value of the holding company’s assets was around 1,100 million euros at the end of 2022, with a positive net worth of 874 million, according to the firm’s consolidated accounts sent to the Commercial Registry.
An empire emerged from socks.
Curiously, one of Pueri’s longest and smallest investments is the one made in another textile company and one of the best-known brands in the Spanish park. He is none other than Adolfo Domínguez, with whom they share a last name but are not related. They coexist in the shareholding with other large fortunes such as Puig – supplier of the designer’s colonies – or the Nogueras (Libertas 7).
The owners of Mayoral have 9% of the capital, which is barely worth 4.5 million euros on the stock market. 100% of Adolfo Domínguez is valued at below 50 million, an acceptable figure for the Domínguez from Malaga – they are not friends of hostile takeovers – as long as they have the approval of the Galician.
Mayoral’s turn towards adult clothing is not a future but a fact. At the end of 2021, Pueri took ownership of the men’s clothing brand Boston and the education specialized in women’s audiences Hug & Clau. However, the hypothetical purchase of Adolfo Domínguez is of a different magnitude with hundreds of stores in Spain and Mexico, and a turnover that exceeds that of Mayoral.
It would be a giant leap for a company that originated in a small workshop in the Ronda mountains eight decades ago, where the great-grandfather of the current directors sold socks. Today Málaga children’s clothing is present in more than 70 countries, but a multinational is rare in the business world in Spain due to its longevity and the permanence of the founders’ control.
It is still in the hands of the founding family, the transition has been made to the fourth generation and, furthermore, the business group seems to be doing better than ever. Right now there are 3 people left from the third generation of the family in the company and 15 cousins from the fourth. Of them, only three hold management positions: Manuel Domínguez de la Maza, president and CEO of Indumenta Pueri SL, who leads the reins along with his brother Rafael and his cousin Lourdes Abela Domínguez.