Banco Sabadell report
The company is negotiating the acquisition of a 40–45 per cent stake in the Catalan start-up Openchip and Software Technologies, which specialises in chip development. The company is currently owned by, amongst others, SETT, the Catalan Government and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, and according to recent transactions, it is valued at around €700 million.
Through a funding round, the Barcelona-based technology firm aims to raise €250 million. For its part, ACS will join Sepi Digital in the deal, having already committed €115 million in June.
Whilst the deal has yet to be confirmed and further details are pending, we view this potential investment positively given the strategic and economic significance the company could have in the future (it aims to develop chips that consume less energy than those manufactured by giants such as Nvidia). According to information published in Expansión, the acquisition of a 40%–45% stake would amount to around €300 million, representing 0.9% of ACS’s market capitalisation and 20% of its net financial debt.
Recommendation: Underweight, Target price €93
