Aurelio Medel (5 Días) | The declaration of Talgo as a “strategic company within a key sector for the economic security, territorial cohesion and industrial development of Spain” is a trap for the company and constitutes a dangerous precedent for other companies, which can fall under the same qualification only with arguments contained in a report declared secret.
The course of Talgo’s stock shows how the pompous label of strategic company, and the consequent halt to a takeover, can destroy value. It is a reflection of the crossroads in which Talgo finds itself after the Government’s veto. The reality is that its main shareholder, the Trilantic fund, which owns almost 30% of the capital and controls 40% of the voting rights thanks to the pact it has with Torreal (3%) and the Oriol family (7%), wants to make cash. In addition, the company needs resources to increase its production capacity to meet its current order book and to invest in R&D, which is essential in a sector in full transformation.
The government’s decision is a kind of state seizure of the company, a huge trap for Talgo in which other companies could be trapped. If the Government considers a Spanish company to be strategic and key to national security, it is logical for it to take over its capital, pay a fair price to its shareholders and nationalize it. Spain has already experienced other dubious shortcuts to the free market, such as those used in Ibex 35 companies like Telefónica or Indra, in which the State takes very significant stakes and leverages on national partners to accompany it in the investment and thus guarantee public control of the company.
The problem with this public-private control scheme is the lack of transparency in the incentives committed by the State. In order to stop the autocratic government of Saudi Arabia in its attempt to control Telefónica, Mr. Pedro Sánchez decided that the Spanish state, through SEPI, would buy 10% of the telecommunications company. Coincidentally, and at the same time, the Fundación La Caixa, through Criteria Caixa, has acquired another 10% of Telefónica. Precisely, La Caixa may also end up being Talgo’s white knight.
The government is probably right to stop these shareholders in Telefónica or Talgo, but sustainable exits must be sought, which do not damage Spain’s reputation and are accompanied by an industrial plan. Everyone knows that Talgo’s solution involves finding an industrial partner. The Basque company CAF, which is worth 1,200 million on the stock exchange, double what the Hungarians offered for Talgo, meets all the conditions. If the Government has to give incentives, it is better to find an industrial partner than a financial one.
