The first battle in BBVA’s hostile takeover of Sabadell is already being fought over the support among the shareholders that each entity has. The bank chaired by Josep Oliu has reported to the CNMV that BBVA must reveal the names of the Sabadell shareholders who would have shown their support for the takeover bid, according to financial sources. If they do not do so, Sabadell considers that BBVA should retract the comments made by its president, Carlos Torres, pointing out that Sabadell shareholders, some of them “relevant”, have expressed their interest in participating in the offer.
Meanwhile, sources from the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) specify that the organization will analyze the information sent by Sabadell last night, in which it reported a violation of the takeover law.
The president of BBVA, during a presentation to analysts and later in a press conference, spoke about the possible support of some Sabadell shareholders for the takeover bid. However, this information does not appear in the official communication made by the entity to the CNMV, which detailed the content of the takeover bid as well as the economic offer and other details. This CNMV channel is the one that should be used so that all investors and shareholders have the same information and not others, such as a press conference or a meeting with analysts, defend financial sources. BBVA chose to remain silent yesterday and did not comment on the matter.
On Thursday night, Sabadell assured in a statement to the CNMV that the documentation delivered by BBVA in a conference with analysts and the comments made therein “violate article 32.1 of Royal Decree 1066/2007, of July 27, on the regime of public offers for the acquisition of securities and, in general, introduce incomplete data that can affect the market.” That article says that “from the public announcement of a public acquisition offer (…) and until the presentation of the offer (…) the offeror (…) will refrain from disseminating or publishing by any means any data or information that is not stated in the previous announcement of the offer.”
According to CNMV sources, there is no formal complaint from Sabadell beyond the aforementioned communication sent to the Commission.
Torres told the press on Thursday that “there have indeed been relevant investors from Banco Sabadell who have contacted us to express their interest in seeing an offer like the one we presented materialize.” Earlier, in the conference with analysts, he noted that “our team has had contact with many of those shareholders and some of them have approached us with a clear expression of favorable views on the transaction.” According to market sources, BBVA launched its hostile takeover bid to end speculation about what decision it would adopt after the Sabadell board of directors rejected the initial offer.
Yesterday was a day of transition in the stock market after the ups and downs of the previous day. The two entities rose. BBVA rose 1.15%, to 9.71 euros. And Sabadell 0.73%, up to 1.87 euros.
Meanwhile, analyzes of the operation are multiplying. The Fitch rating agency believes that “the relatively long period until the possible approval date (six to eight months) adds uncertainty and may present a distraction for both banks,” Europa Press reports. In the event that the takeover bid fails, the risk rating agency does not foresee negative implications for the credit profile of both entities, which will continue to benefit from a positive environment due to the interest rate cycle.
The Minister of Economy, Natàlia Mas, insisted that the Government will do “everything in its power” to ensure that the takeover does not prosper. The councilor added that the union of both entities “would be detrimental to the public interest from a banking concentration point of view because it would reduce and make access to credit more expensive and would also have an impact on the remuneration of deposits.”
Looking at the next steps of the operation, the Spanish Association of Minority Shareholders of Listed Companies (Aemec) yesterday was “in favor” of public acquisition offers, whether they come from a bank or any other company, and said that the The Government, with current legislation, cannot veto BBVA’s takeover bid.
