Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is set to become the largest investor in Spanish builder FCC after agreeing to buy top shareholder Esther Koplowitz’s part of a $1.3 billion capital increase.

The deal means Koplowitz will lose control over the building group she inherited from her father, a German immigrant who built a construction empire during the years following Spain’s 1936-1939 civil war.

Slim’s conglomerate Grupo Carso already holds small stakes in Spanish firms. But the investment of about €700 million ($870 million) in FCC, one of the Spain’s top employers, is his highest profile move in the country.

Slim stepped in after talks between Koplowitz and George Soros broke down at the weekend.

In a statement to Spain’s stock market regulator on Thursday, FCC said Slim’s Inmobiliaria Carso would hold a 25.63 per cent stake in the company following the capital increase. Koplowitz will see her stake reduced to 22.43 per cent, from just above 50 per cent now.

The arrival of a new core shareholder is good news for the group, which has lost more than 80 per cent of its market value since the abrupt end of a construction boom in Spain in 2007 and needs to focus on rebuilding its business.

Unlike Soros, with whom Koplowitz had been in exclusive talks until Monday, Slim brings not only money but also industrial expertise in areas such as environment services and exposure to Latin America, where FCC wants to grow.

A source close to the talks said the discussions with Soros failed over the weekend when the financier tried to obtain a better price at which he would buy the shares.

“Koplowitz was in a weak position and he tried to push it a bit too far. That’s when Slim stepped in,” said the source.

The builder and services company is offering 43 new shares for every 41 held, at a price of €7.5 each. – (Reuters)