2024-04-26 14:44:00
The Spanish State continues to increase its stake in Telefonica. This Friday, the Public Company of Industrial Participations (SEPI) sent a press release to the stock market watchdog to indicate that it had reached the 6% mark, compared to 3% previously. In the eyes of the government, this operation is strategic. It aims to ensure that Telefonica, the historic Iberian operator, does not go under a foreign flag. Ultimately, he intends to increase his stake to 10%.
The Spanish government was shocked, in September, by the arrival of the Saudi Arabian company Saudi Telecom Company (STC). That same month, the latter paid 2.1 billion euros to take 9.9% of the operator. Without crossing the 10% threshold, which would have required the green light from the authorities.
The maneuver surprised the government. He decided, in December, to light a counter-fire by returning to the capital of Telefonica, which had been completely privatized in 1997. His objective: to protect this company considered “very important and strategic” for the country. Although STC has indicated that it has no intention of taking control of Telefonica, its arrival has aroused strong fears within the executive and the opposition.
Madrid clearly wants to influence the decisions of Telefonica, which has more than 100,000 employees worldwide, and is present in twelve countries, including Brazil, Germany and the United Kingdom. The operator is currently suffering in its domestic market. It will now face competition from MasOrange, recently born from the merger between Orange and MasMovil, and which has now become number one in Spain in terms of number of customers.
1714147418
#Spanish #State #strengthens #position #Telefonica
