Treasury invests another 1,000 million in SEPI to finance takeover of 10% of Telefónica | Companies

In April, the Ministry of Finance injected a further €1 billion into SEPI to finance the purchase of Telefónica shares, according to reports from the Directorate General of Public Administration (IGAE). The public company had already reached 10% of the leading Spanish telecommunications company, which has a market value of about $2.4 billion, according to market close on Friday.

This is the third cash injection the Treasury has made into SEPI in recent months. In February, the ministry made a first contribution to the industrial holding of 500 million euros, which is added to another 500 million it allocated in March. Taking into account the €1 billion contributed in April, the Treasury has injected a total of around €2 billion into SEPI in just three months.

In the chapter dedicated to the financial assets of the document, the department headed by Maria Jesús Montero explains that part of the increase in payments accumulated in this section, which reaches 4.237 million euros, 2.200 million more than in 2023, is due to the “contribution to shareholders capital of the State Society for Industrial Participation (SEPI) in the amount of 2 billion euros.” Although the ministry does not specify that the movement is aimed at financing entry into the Telefonica stake, the figure approximately coincides with the stock exchange value of the operator’s shares in its ownership.

According to Europa Press, this injection into SEPI by the Treasury was partly offset by a “smaller contribution to the Autonomous Communities Financing Fund” of €500 million. Ministry sources told this news agency that since general state budgets are a continuation of previous ones and the autonomous communities require less funding this year thanks to the reduction of their deficits, 500 million euros have been transferred from regional funding. fund to support this operation.

In December, the Council of Ministers instructed SEPI to acquire a 10% stake in Telefónica. The move comes in the midst of the arrival of Saudi telco STC in the telecom capital last September with another 10%. The company is awaiting government approval to join the Spanish company under anti-takeover protection, which requires Council of Ministers approval for deals involving companies considered strategic.

SEPI already reached this 10% on May 20th. As this organization clarified, the operation “was carried out to minimize the impact on the price and in accordance with the communications of large holdings established in the regulations of the markets in which it operates.”

SEPI has already appointed an adviser to represent the state. In this case it is Carlos Ocaña, and the government is considering appointing a second adviser in the near future. At the same time, Criteria Caixa – the investment arm of the La Caixa Foundation – is also seeking another 10% of Telefonica’s capital, up from the 5% it currently holds. Next comes BBVA – 4.8%, and the BlackRock investment fund – 4.9%.

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