The State Industrial Participations Company (SEPI) will continue buying Telefónica shares from the 3% capital it reached yesterday to a maximum of 10% to which the Council of Ministers has mandated. These acquisitions will be made as quickly as possible, the Government assured today.
“As for the deadlines to complete this purchase of Telefónica shares, it will be done in the shortest possible time, as long as it does not affect the price,” the minister spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, assured today. The company's share is increasing in value today by 1.83%, to 4.06 euros.
The return of the State to Telefónica “will make it possible to provide greater shareholder stability” to the multinational and “safeguard the strategic capabilities of a strategic company for national interests,” Alegría added. At yesterday's close, SEPI is the fifth shareholder of Telefónica after STC, BBVA, CaixaBank and Criteria Caixa, and BlackRock.
The Government has avoided mentioning the company STC, from Saudi Arabia, whose surprise emergence into Telefónica spurred the movement being carried out by the SEPI. The government spokesperson insisted today that the mechanism used to acquire part of the company's capital is a "formula that is being carried out in other countries" in the Spanish environment.
SEPI can continue buying Telefónica shares until it reaches 5%. It is at this threshold when you have the obligation to once again communicate to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) your opposition as a relevant shareholder of the company.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, also stated today that the SEPI operation in Telefónica is due to the fact that “security is also economic security” in strategic sectors.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed that “there are a series of sectors that are vital for the functioning of the country, not only in Spain, this happens at the European level, of course,” and also highlighted, in an interview on Cadena Ser, that the Legislation for the Executive's access to these companies is not different from that of EU partners.
Taking into account the company's price in recent weeks, between 3.75 and 4 euros per share, to acquire up to 3% of Telefónica the State would have disbursed between 650 and 700 million, as long as it had acquired the entire package in this price range.
The financing for this operation comes from a transfer from chapter 8 (capital transfers) of the 2023 Budget. The public accounts are extended this 2024, but the Treasury assured yesterday that there is room for the operation and for future purchases up to 10%. of capital.
