Billionaire Bill Gates had purchased a 6% stake in Spain-based construction firm Fomento de Construcciones & Contratas or FCC. The founder of Microsoft and the world's richest man paid EUR 113.5 million or USD 155 million for the stake, according to a statement from FCC.

According to a Bloomberg report, Gates' purchase was a sign that investors were optimistic about a Spanish economic recovery. In the third quarter, Spain also exited from a recession that had hounded the country for two years. The country's bond and equity markets had also become more robust with the return of foreign investors, Bloomberg reported.

FGA/MG Valores Analyst Francisco Salvador told Bloomberg by phone that the positive structural changes happening in Spain were more obvious compared to its neighbors Portugal or Greece. He added, "If Spain were a company, it would be a restructuring story similar to that of FCC, and investors usually like those stories."