SEPI is keeping its plan to enter Telefonica unchanged despite the emergence of Escrivá’s new digital group.

The government is preparing to create a new public company that will direct public investment in the technology sector and focus on major programs to help the digital industry, with which the executive intends to mobilize 20 billion euros. Minister of Digital Transition José Luis Escrivaleft the door open for this new government group, called the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT), to control the stake the government intends to acquire in Telefónica.

Last December, the Council of Ministers instructed the public holding company Sociedad Estado de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI), dependent on the Ministry of Finance, to buy a stake of up to 10% of Telefónica in order to counter plans to land in the Spanish telecom from Saudi Arabia through state operator Saudi Telecom with package up to 9.9%. A mandate that will remain in force.

SEPI remains unchanged its plans to enter the capital of Telefonica despite the future creation of a new public company, according to several government sources involved in the process. The public holding company confirms that the mandate approved by the Council of Ministers does not change, despite the announcement of the creation of a new government group and the statements of Minister Escrivá, leaving open the possibility that this kind “digital SEPI” eventually becomes a government partner in the capital of Telefonica. “We have an order to enter the capital, and we will carry it out,” sums up the public group.

Minister Escrivá, on the other hand, opened the doors to a new public company, SETT, which will be the vehicle for the return of the Spanish state to the capital of Telefónica. “We will look at the work of Telefonica. It makes sense to fit it into this area, “But we’ll see over time,” he explained.

SEPI is tight-lipped about the formula it will use and the financial intermediaries that will be involved in its entry into Telefónica. That 10% stake is worth about $2.2 billion, based on the telecom company’s current trading price, and the public holding company would essentially be unable to absorb those costs unless the government approves a cash injection into the public holding company. through general government budgets (OGBs), and it remains to be seen whether they will receive the necessary parliamentary support to move forward.

Mobilize 20,000 million

The new SETT, which will be affiliated with the Ministry of Digital Transformation, will invest in these strategic sectors, such as telecommunications or generative artificial intelligence, and will have an initial investment capacity of almost 20 billion euros, focused on core areas. technologies. Avant-garde.

The future organization will join forces with existing initiatives such as the €12 billion PERTE Chip for semiconductors and microelectronics; the NextTech fund with €4 billion to invest in companies with a high technology innovation component; or the Audiovisual Hub fund with €1.7 billion for companies in the sector. SETT will bring together the current State Microelectronics and Semiconductor Society (SEMyS), which has until now depended on SEPI and the Ministry of Finance, to kick-start the development of the PERTE chip.

Telefónica is preparing for a double shareholder earthquake, due to the emergence of Saudi Arabia in the capital of the Spanish telecommunications company with a stake of up to 9.9% (for which it must seek permission from the government due to the strategic nature of the group) and due to the Spanish boss to protect Spanish character of the company, ordering SEPI to buy a stake of up to 10%, a quarter of a century after its full privatization. Telefonica management says it has no news about when Saudi Arabian company STC will apply for the permit or when, how or how much it intends to make SEPI purchases. Everything is waiting for new partners to make a move.