The State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI) has informed this Friday to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) that it has already exceeded 6% in the share capital of Telefónica.
“We hereby inform that in the course of the operation to acquire shares of the Telefónica company, which in execution of the agreement of the Council of Ministers of December 19, 2023, the Sepi is carrying out, this entity has exceeded the 24 April 2024 the threshold of 6% of the share capital of said company”, points out the statement sent to the CNMV.
The above information has been provided to the Securities And Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States in compliance with the regulations in force in that country.
“This information is communicated through this document voluntarily in order to avoid asymmetry in the information to be disseminated regarding Telefónica in accordance with the regulations applicable in other jurisdictions and that resulting from Spanish regulations,” adds the SEPI.
With this purchase, the public company is getting closer to the mandate it received last December from the Council of Ministers, to acquire 10% of Telefónica in order to shore up Spanish control of the strategic telecommunications company for Spain.
The Government’s decision was the response to the entry into Telefónica’s capital of the STC fund, Saudi Telecom, owned by the Saudi Arabian investment fund, which last September had made public the direct purchase of 4.9% of the capital of Telefónica. the Spanish one and another portfolio of 5% derivatives, which if executed would make him the first shareholder.
As of today, that position is occupied by Sepi and is flanked by Criteria, which on April 9 took over 5.007% of Telefónica’s shares, adding to the 2.69% that CaixaBank still owns and which, together with the participation of BBVA 4.839%, underpin Spanish power on the board of Telefónica.
The operation announced today by the SEPI also facilitates the exit of CaixaBank, forced to divest itself of its industrial holdings because they penalize its income statement according to the new European financial regulations.
