The agreements include the creation of a single 3G and 4G network in cities with less than 30,000 inhabitants and the implementation of a single 2G technology network throughout the country. These measures will enable Telefónica’s Brazilian subsidiary to extend its coverage to 400 new cities in the first year of the contract.
The EY Global IPO Trends report for the first quarter of 2020 noted how global IPO activity dropped dramatically in March, due to the pandemic. So the report considers IPO activity would not improve “at the earliest” until the second half of 2020. And it seems to have hit the mark, with the Dutch company Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), the world’s second largest coffee producer started trading last week. It is the first major IPO of 2020, raising a total of €2.25 billion.
Banca March | At the end of the first quarter, BBVA strengthened its leadership in the ranking by assets in Spain. For the first time in its history, BBVA broke the €400 billion barrier in assets, which is more than Bankia and Sabadell combined.
What was a rumour all weekend, has become official: Spain’s fourth major telecoms operator, MasMovil, has confirmed with Spanish market regulator CNMV the offer from the funds KKR, Cinven and Providence, via Lorca Telecom BidCo. The full cash bid for MasMovil from the consortium formed by the three investment funds would be at 22.5 euros/share. The price represents a premium of 20.2% over Friday’s closing price of 18.72 euros/share (capitalization of 2.466 billion euros).
Endesa has completed the development and validation phase with real users of the ‘Confia’ project, which is a pioneer in Europe. Thanks to ‘blockchain’ technology, it will enable the processing of cases of energy poverty to be speeded up as much as possible. The project is part of Endesa’s commitment to the fight against energy poverty. The company currently has more than 270 agreements in force.
BBVA has launched a five-year Covid-19 issue, the first of its kind by a financial institution in Europe. The resources will be used to finance eligible social projects, mainly to mitigate the severe economic and social impact caused directly or indirectly by the pandemic.
Once again the US has threatened Spanish oil company Repsol and other companies that pump oil in Venezuela and sell it on the international market with “devastating” sanctions. In addition to Repsol, the Italian company ENI and India’s Reliance are currently operating in Venezuela. As a reference, Repsol’s exposure to Venezuela is: 270 million dollars of capital employed (1%) and 50,000 barrels (7% of total production). This exposure has been lowered in recent years.
Bankinter | Sabadell and Bankia will fall by 73.7% and 57.5%, respectively, in 2020, amongst the biggest drops in the European banking sector (a decline of 46.4% for the EuroStoxx Banks). So is a merger looming between these two Spanish lenders? The market has been speculating about this possibility for some time, even as a mechanism to dilute the state’s position in Bankia (currently at 61.8%) which it holds via the FROB.
Iberdrola plans to participate in the renewable energy auction the United Kingdom is preparing for next year. The Spanish power company will submit its East Anglia offshore wind project in the upcoming auction call to try to win one of the contracts for differences (CfD). The project will require an investment of close to 7.6 billion euros.
Mobeen Tahir (Wisdom Tree) | Following weakness in prices around the middle of March, when liquidity needs created acute selling pressures on gold, the precious metal has resumed its strong run this year with more than 13% price appreciation year to date.