José M. Rodríguez Silva

Updated Friday, March 1, 2024-14:05

  • Government The Government creates a public company that will mobilize 20,000 million to invest in technology and with which to enter Telefónica

A delegation of

STC Group

executives met this Friday in Madrid with the president of Telefónica,

José María Álvarez Pallete

, to address the future of the investor in the company and in the run-up to the company's shareholders' meeting, which is usually held in April.

Both the Saudi group and Telefónica have declined to comment, but sources close to the company have confirmed the celebration to

El Mundo

, after it was reported by

El Independiente.

The Arab group displayed a strong presence this week in Spain, being the main sponsor of the

Mobile World Congress

and coexisting a few meters away with the Telefónica exhibitor.

STC Group

directly controls 4.9% of Telefónica shares and has the option to reach 9.9% through the execution of financial derivatives.

The company has informed Álvarez Pallete of its intention

to do so and has just published its annual report in which it estimates a period of one year to make the agreement effective.

To do this, you will need authorization from the Ministry of Defense, a procedure that usually lasts around three months, but which is more likely to be addressed as the State takes a part of Telefónica's capital, thus guaranteeing the balance of forces in the shareholding.

In its financial report, the company also makes clear the 42 million euros of dividend received in the last quarter.