The second vice president of the Government and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, took advantage of her meeting today with the Sumar parliamentary group to demand more control of the State against “foreign interests” that are often “hardly compatible” with those of Spain.
His comments came regarding the purchase of 9.9% of Telefónica by Saudi Telecom for 2.1 billion euros and also the approval by a Barcelona court of Celsa’s restructuring plan promoted by creditor funds such as Deutsche Bank Anchorage , Capital Group and Attesor Capital.
When talking about Telefónica, Díaz moderated his statements from last week, in which he said that he “will work” to stop the Saudi operation. She was instead in favor of accepting a financial participation, without Saudi Telecom being able to exercise its voting rights or be part of the board of directors.
The movement of the Saudi telecom must be limited to an investment “that seeks financial profitability.” In addition, he said, the anti-takeover shield and the activity of Sepi should be “legally” reinforced by taking controlling stakes in companies.
Under the royal decree on protection of the Defense business sector approved by the Government in July, Saudi Telecom can buy up to 5% in Telefónica and exercise voting rights for this proportion, but not enter the board of directors. If you want to raise the stake to 9.9%, the Government can prevent you from exercising voting rights for this additional share and accessing the board.
The first vice president of the Government and Minister of Economic Affairs, Nadia Calvió, has insisted today on the principles established by her department: the Government will analyze “with all rigor” the Saudi operation to guarantee that “there is no risk from the point of view of security.”
“Spain is a serious country that will apply the mechanisms and instruments rigorously and with legal certainty,” said Calviño. Díaz responded to this last comment by saying that “what is serious” is defending the country’s strategic autonomy.
