The Government puts pressure on Ferrovial's management and interferes in its decisive shareholders' meeting against the transfer of the headquarters to the Netherlands. Official sources of the Ministry of Economy confirm the sending of a letter to the company chaired by Rafael del Pino in which it urges it to "inform" the shareholders of the reality about the reasons alleged by the management for not maintaining the headquarters in Spain. Ferrovial points out as a fundamental reason the impossibility of listing in the United States with its headquarters in Spain, something that it considers feasible from the Netherlands and foresees the approval of the operation at the shareholders' meeting this Thursday. The Ministry plays hard by interfering and showing discomfort before the meeting of partners of a listed company in which foreign funds also support the transfer.

However, the letter signed by the Secretary of State for the Economy, Gonzalo García Andrés, advanced by El País, maintains the opposite. According to the aforementioned sources of the Department directed by Nadia Calviño, the letter has been sent "with the conclusions of the analyses made by the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) and Spanish Stock Exchanges and Markets (BME) indicating that no obstacle has been identified (legislative, regulatory, supervisory or operational) for the admission to direct trading of the shares of a Spanish company listed in Spain in the United States, or indications of its existence."

And they add that "the conclusions derived from the analyses carried out question, therefore, the economic motivation alleged by the company for the transfer of its headquarters to the Netherlands".

García Andrés also denies that settling in Amsterdam is an advantage: "It is concluded that there is no difference between countries of the European Union in terms of the admission requirements established by the US stock exchanges through Dual Listing (simultaneous listing)".

In the letter he reiterates what Calviño has already assured publicly and is "the commitment of both the Government and the CNMV and BME to promote that Spanish companies have the best possible access to these markets with the actions that are appropriate".

Ferrovial sources pointed out that the letter from the Ministry has been subjected to "study", but the position of Del Pino and the board of directors is so far unanimous that the transfer improves access to European and US financing as shown by the stock market behavior since the announcement. For his part, the president of the CNMV,. Rodrigo Buenaventura, was last month less resounding than García Andrés in a parliamentary appearance and admitted that it was not "easy or immediate" for a Spanish company to list in the US as it was a path never experienced.

  • Ferrovial
  • Netherlands
  • United States
  • Holland
  • European Union

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