José Antonio Hainaga, the “resurrector” of Sidenor, who wants to save Talgo and is highly respected by the government.
José Antonio Hainaga (Bilbao, 1954) was a businessman who received all the attention for several weeks. The application to become a shareholder of Talgo made it the possible savior of a leading and strategic company for Spain and the Basque Country. It’s true that if the purchase finally goes through, Jainaga won’t be alone. The Basque government and the central government are in principle positive about this operation, which will be carried out through the company Sidenor, of which it is a 100% owner, so it seems clear that they will accompany it by becoming a shareholder. Lehendakari Imanol Pradales himself confirmed on Tuesday that if there is an industrial partner and a “future-proof and reliable” industrial plan, the Basque government “will accompany the operation so that Talgo has an exit and a future.” But after the failed takeover of the Hungarian company Magyar Wagon, no activity would have been possible without the industrial partner taking the first step, and that step forward was taken by Jainaga, a businessman who, on the other hand, is not new to the business. pool of possible savings investments of strategic companies.
The name José Antonio Hainaga was one of the symbols of the last large industrial enterprises in Spain, although it did not go beyond the first contacts. It sounded like ITP Aero’s industrial partner, which the Basque government eventually entered with 6%, but not Jainaga. He also sounded like a possible buyer of Celsa, a Catalan company that also had plants in Euskadi, was exploring the possibility of buying Galician company Alcoa and now has Talgo in mind. Jainaga is a man of industry, “always open to finding new opportunities.” “They always have in their sights the analysis of operations with the aim of remaining in the industrial sector,” they say from their circle. And so far he has been good at reviving companies and establishing them. Proof of this is Sidenor, the “beauty” of his investment, from which he plans to carry out the purchase of Talgo and which, one might say, has been “reborn” several times. The latter during the industrial crisis was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was one of the few industries in the sector to overcome the downturn without layoffs, having an ERTE that it managed to raise ahead of schedule and even invest during the pandemic. He previously took the company out of the hands of Brazilian multinational Gerdau and returned it to the Basque capital.
Sidenor, which was a public company, was privatized in 1995, with Ifesa as the majority partner, whose main shareholder was Sabino Arrieta, a businessman directly linked to PNV, who, ten years after taking over the company, sold it to the Brazilian multinational Gerdau in a real move. industrial revolution: he bought it for 13 million and sold it for more than 440. Jainaga joined the Basque company during Arrieta’s time as the company’s general director. Before that he went through Sener and Michelin. Since the Brazilians became owners of Sidernor, he became CEO. Ten years later, in 2016, it was Jainaga who led the operation to return Sidenor to the Basque capital, and since then the steel company, based in the Biscay town of Basauri, has only grown.
The company produces special long steel and has production plants in Euskadi, Cantabria and Catalonia, as well as sales offices in Germany, France, Italy and the UK. The company employs 1,850 people and has a turnover of more than 1,000 million people. It is one hundred percent owned by the Jainaga family society, Clerbil. In addition to Sidenor, Mirai Investments is also affiliated with the same company., created in 2019, through which it invests in SMEs, mainly family businesses that have difficulties with succession, and almost always with percentages that allow them to control the company. Because Jainaga likes to control everything and have freedom of action to implement his industrial plans.
A reserved businessman in his public appearances, affable in short distances, he does not hesitate to speak loudly and clearly when it comes to protecting his interests. In fact, since the pandemic, as president of Sidenor and the Association of Large Energy Companies (AEGE), he has starred in high-profile verbal confrontations with Iberdrola and its top officials over rising energy prices and directly blamed electricity companies. . being the reasons for the closure of companies. It was one of the first companies to stop production due to high energy prices.
A staunch advocate whose size is of great importance in the company, he initiated several proposals to create a large Basque steel business group. In his latest major steel bid, he wanted to merge his company Sidenor with Olarra, Tubacex and Tubos Reunidos. The proposal remained unheeded.
Although he is directly involved in the steel industry through Sidenor, he has been pushing to diversify his business for many years. For example, it participates with EVE 50% in the company Eguzkind, which operates solar parks in Catalonia that supply green energy to the group’s Catalan power plants. Or, through its investment brand, Mirai is involved in 15 companies with a combined turnover of US$200 million and more than 1,000 jobs in a variety of sectors including metals, electronics, animal welfare, agribusiness, health and beauty.
Once Talgo has officially announced through CMNV that it is negotiating with Sidenor to sell the company, the most difficult phase of these transactions begins. Jainaga and his team will have access to the accounts, review Talgo’s liabilities, income and order book and will have to make an offer, which will apparently be followed up by the Spanish government through Sepi and the Basque government through Fincatusa. Talgo has now been revealed to owe almost $400 million in debt to banks and Renfe has been sanctioned for delayed deliveries, which could result in $160 million in fines, but has an order book of $4 billion and sales of last year was $652 million. million euros. The Magyar Wagon takeover bid valued the company at $619 million. Talgo is currently worth just over €447 million on the stock market. Its share stood at 3.77 euros at the end of Tuesday, below the 5 euros offered by the Hungarian group in its offer.