Delfin, the holding of Fonciere des Regions' main shareholder Del Vecchio, is further increasing its stake in the French office property group with the acquisition of warrants to be converted into shares representing 1.74% of the group's capital. The operation will allow the Luxembourg-based holding to control a 23.4% stake in FDR, up from 21.66% held previously. The warrants were sold by Batipart, FDR's second largest shareholder.

At the end of December, Delfin also bought a further 1.93% stake in FDR for a price of EUR 69.96 per share. The shares were acquired from French insurance group Groupama and represented an investment of EUR 63 mln.

The moves are part of Delfin's strategy to avoid stock dilution in FDR following a capital increase carried out earlier in 2009.