David Martinez will support BBVA’s takeover bid for Sabadell
The move would demonstrate that the share swap proposed by BBVA would attract the interest of large shareholders of the Catalan bank, which has a highly fragmented capital.
A big blow for Sabadell in his fight to continue fighting on his own. David Martinez main individual shareholder of Sabadell, will support the BBVA hostile takeover proposal published yesterday Bloomberg citing strong close ties to the financier.
David Martinez controlsup to 3.495% of Sabadell’s capital and the only own director which is part of Sabadell’s highest governing body. His holdings trail only the manager of BlackRock, which owns 3.83%, and Vanguard, which holds 3.76%.
The initial support of this shareholder will demonstrate that the premium offered by BBVA can be sufficient to attract large investors from Sabadell.
Carlos Torres, President of BBVA, just a few days ago, presenting the takeover offer to the market, assured that “some investors” They expressed interest in ensuring that the proposal to the board of directors was addressed to all shareholders.
Upon hearing this news, BBVA’s ADRs on Wall Street registered a sharp move. They rose 1.71%, but then growth fell to 1%.
Martinez financier from New York which represents the interests of the wealthiest families of Monterrey (Mexico) through Fintech Advisory.
Vote
David Martinez did not participate in the vote that Sabadell’s board of directors decided on May 6 whether to accept BBVA’s merger proposal before it turned into a hostile takeover bid. He declared a potential conflict of interest because he was a director and the first individual shareholder.
There are two things that work in BBVA’s favor about this acquisition.
The first is obvious – the absence of a reference block of Sabadell shareholders. Since high-ranking representatives of the Catalan bourgeoisie, such as the president of Mango and José Manuel Lara (Planet) sold their titles several years before the pandemic, The jar lacks a hard core.
And secondly, that BBVA and Sabadell share in their shareholders up to 71 institutional investors. Both banks have large investment and pension managers under their capital and this is critical when it comes to securing support.
These funds generally believe that the sum of the two banks is worth more than each individually, but they are trusting their decision to the evolution of BBVA shares in the coming months. “The offer is currently attractive, But the decision (whether to go for a takeover bid or not) will depend on what may happen in the market in the coming months,” explains a major Spanish investor involved in both banks. “The main problem will be if the price of BBVA falls below nine euros,” he adds.
It so happens that the voting policies of large fund managers such as BlackRock, Vanguard and Norges Bank, As a rule, they do not support the defensive maneuvers of oppressed companies, as published by EXPANSIÓN.
For now, the government’s refusal to carry out the operation speaks in Sabadell’s favor. And a high concentration of retailers in the capital. 200,000 small investors account for 48% of capital. and they tend to be guided by the advice of the council. Half of them live in Catalonia and the Valencian Community.
David Martinez entered Sabadell’s capital ten years ago through a 1,400 million capital increase with Colombian tycoon Jaime Gilinsky, who sold his last shares in 2019. Martinez now owned 5% of the capital. After the departure of the Colombian, Martinez remained the only supporting shareholder.
This financier invested about 375 million in different phases.
After years of hidden losses, the stock market’s strong rally over the past three years, especially in recent days as a result of the takeover bid, has allowed it to bounce back from those red numbers. Current quote will exceed the purchase price paid for by David Martinez as his entry came after the company’s all-time highs.
An investor who can play a key role in the operation
Nicholas M. Saries
David Martinez (Mexico, 67) controls 3.495% of Sabadell’s capital and is the only director who is also a qualifying individual shareholder of the bank.
Ten years ago, when he had already reached 5% of the capital, Martinez joined the board of directors of Sabadell as a non-independent member.
As such, Martinez, an electrical engineer by training (like BBVA President Carlos Torres) and a former Citigroup employee, occupies a special position on the board, characterized by a strong weight of independents and executives.
His “rara avis” status was confirmed when, on May 6, he was the only Sabadell council member who did not vote on the purchase offer made by BBVA due to the existence of a possible conflict of interest.
A Mexican investor came to the attention of US authorities in 2019 due to his alleged ties to the regime of Nicolas Maduro. According to Bloomberg, one of David Martinez’s investment companies provided Venezuela with a loan of almost $300 million, so the United States was exploring the possibility of imposing sanctions.
The fine against the director of Sabadell was imposed by the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV): in 2021, it imposed a fine of 300,000 euros on Martinez for failing to fulfill his duties to inform the market about his exposure to the bank’s capital.
This former Wall Street financier, trained as a priest, manages the money of Monterrey’s wealthiest families.
At the age of 30, he founded a restructuring consulting firm, Fintech Advisory.