Time of silence: the Saudi landing in Telefónica marks a month of silence waiting for official notification

Since, late on a Tuesday afternoon, the Saudi operator STC Group notified the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) of the purchase of 9.9% of Telefónica, just one month has passed.. 30 days in which few details have transcended beyond those revealed by the investor when he issued a notification to the market supervisor in which he revealed the figures of the operation and showed his confidence in the current management team.

The operation involved the acquisition of almost 10% of capital, just below the anti-takeover shield, for 2.1 billion euros and was implemented through the purchase of 4.9% directly and 5% through instruments financial assets in the possession of Morgan Stanley, who discreetly acquired securities to put together the purchase.

Since then there have been hardly any major events. A visit by the president of Telefónica, José María Álvarez-Pallete, to Riyadh and an ordinary council at Telefónica in which the operation was explained to the directors and of which not many details have been revealed.

The lack of progress has been such that STC Group has not even formally issued the request for approval to the Ministry of Defense that it needs to directly control 9.9% of Telefónica. The operator's ties to various strategic aspects of state defense make this procedure necessary, which could be avoided if the group renounced exercising political rights in the Spanish company or appointing a director.. However, it is assumed that STC Group, controlled by the country's sovereign wealth fund, will end up notifying the operation, foreseeably already with a Government formed in the event that elections are not repeated.

The need for the Saudi landing to have government authorization has caused enormous friction in the Executive. The Sumar and Podemos wing, headed by the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, has not only been fiercely against the investment of the Arab country, but has also tried, during negotiations, to revive the debate on the need for presence of the State in the country's large strategic companies.

An intention that the socialist Government is far from sharing, since, with the exception of Indra, it has shown itself even more willing to have a greater weight of private capital in public companies, with the sale of minority stakes in subsidiaries of companies such as Redeia (the former Red Eléctrica) or, this week, the freight transport subsidiary of Renfe, which will create a joint venture with the shipping company MSC to grow in this segment, which in turn is key for Brussels to have agreed to eliminate Recovery of tolls on highways.

Recently, it has emerged that the socialist wing of the Executive could prepare conditions similar to those accepted by IFM to receive the 'green light' for its takeover bid in Naturgy, which would include the impossibility of voting in favor of a change of headquarters outside of Spain. , For example.

NEXT KEY DATE

The next key date to learn more about the future of Telefónica will be November 8. That day, Telefónica will present quarterly results and will celebrate an 'investor day' in which it will present its new strategic plan. A long-awaited milestone in the market even before the operation.

During the event, Álvarez Pallete's management team is expected to outline the firm's strategy for the coming years, which will focus on cash generation, the growth of new digital businesses, such as those grouped in Telefónica Tech or the continuation of the digital transformation.