Haste continues to rearrange its capital. After the resignation of Vivendi to control 29.9% of the media group to keep the 9.9% that it currently has, now it has been Telefónica that has moved the piece. The telecommunications operator chaired by José María Álvarez-Pallete announced yesterday the sale of 7.1% of the capital of Prisa to the company Global Alconaba for 34.1 million euros, according to a note sent to the CNMV. The media group that publishes El País and Cinco Días and also owns SER has a market value of around 410 million after having fallen 40% in the stock market in the last year.
Telefónica's withdrawal is not just another movement. He is one of the historic shareholders of Prisa, with whom he starred in memorable clashes such as the one with the Vía Digital and Canal payment football platforms –before their merger– and also numerous alliances, such as the one that led him to subscribe 100 million in convertible bonds in 2012, at the height of the previous financial crisis.
Thanks to this operation, at the end of 2015, Telefónica came to control around 14% of Prisa, although it later reduced its position to just over 9% and changed the character of its participation to non-strategic, which implied its willingness to sell if given certain circumstances, like now. The occasion has come with the appearance of an investment group that has bought 7%, which ensures an orderly exit and does not harm the media company on the stock market. Predictably, the remaining 2% will gradually be shed.
The new shareholder breaks into the capital with force. Global Alconaba, established a couple of months ago, is controlled by Andrés Varela Entrecanales, from the majority family in the capital of Acciona. Along with him, there are partners such as Alberto Knapp and Daniel Romero-Abreu, all of them related to the television production business.
Your investment is made, according to the statement issued yesterday, with your own financial resources, without the participation of third parties. That will not prevent them from having a relevant weight of their own, since today 34 million are enough to become the fourth shareholder in Prisa. The company's capital is dominated by the Amber Capital fund (29.8%), Vivendi (9.9%) and Rucandio (7.6%), the Polanco family's equity fund. Following this, when the transaction is closed, Global Alconaba, with the aforementioned 7.1%.
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