The shareholding reorganization in Indra continues. The British ‘hedge fund’ Melqart Asset Management, one of the most aggressive investment funds in its operations on the Spanish stock market, has joined the shareholding of the Defense contractor with a long or bullish position that exceeds 1% of the capital through financial derivatives, according to the notification to the CNMV.
The precision about the direction of your investment is relevant because it is one of the great bearish ‘sharks’ of the London City. The firm directed by Michel Massoud has earned a certain reputation in Ibex 35 circles as a fearsome investor after hitting successively with the ball in recent years in the stock market crashes that led to the abyss or bankruptcy, according to Dia case, Abengoa or Popular Bank, among others.
But his last major operation was as an ally of Amber Capital in the remodeling of the Prisa leadership in 2020, which led to the surprise departure of Javier Monzón from the presidency before Christmas and the promotion to the same chair of Oughourlian, first on an interim basis and then permanent. Melqart came to control 4.6% of the media group. His position was decisive for the victory of the ‘hedge fund’ Amber Capital and Telefónica in a vote that was resolved by the minimum (52% vs. 48%).
After the controversy between the CNMV and the agreement
His decision to Indra occurs in a context in which Rodrigo Buenaventura’s National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) had to rule on the existence or not of a shareholder agreement between the Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI), the supplier armament company SAPA Placencia and Oughourlian (Amber), which jointly control just over 35% of Indra’s capital.
With this majority, the three partners have managed to carry out a new roadmap for Indra, in addition to dismissing directors and causing the resignation of several independents to facilitate future corporate moves and prop up the new leadership headed by Marc Murtra. The shareholding roll of SEPI, SAPA and Amber uses the renewal of half of the board of directors. The three partners far exceed the limit of 30% of the shares that would have forced them to launch a takeover bid for Indra in the event that the supervisor judged that there was a concertation between them.
The CNMV admitted that it had indications of this situation and that they had “cooperated” with each other, but finally chose to do nothing. The market supervisor is independent and is attached to the Government, which in turn controls 25.1% of Indra through SEPI and has become one of the largest stock market shares in its portfolio.
In turn, the company led by Ignacio Mataix (CEO) is one of the largest state contractors in sectors as diverse as Defense, electoral counting, airports, cybersecurity, technology, consulting or financial services, among others. The future involves the grouping and division of these businesses with the aim of simplifying their activity. In this sense, Indra is expected to play a relevant role in the new aeronautical company ITP Aero, which was acquired by Bain Capital from Rolls Royce.
The US venture capital giant has reserved almost a third of the shareholding for Spanish partners, including the Basque Government, SAPA Placencia and JB Capital Markets, Javier Botín’s financial boutique. In July, Bain appointed the historic Juan María Nin, his trusted executive in Spain and president of his real estate agency Habitat, owned by Bain, at the controls of ITP Aero. In September, the Basque company signed Javier Lázaro, who was Indra’s financial director (CFO) until April, while Carlos Alzola was appointed CEO.
