Vivendi wants to acquire 29.9% of Prisa, just at the limit of the takeover bid

Vivendi is going to request authorization from the Council of Ministers to acquire 29.9% of the shares of Prisa, of which it currently owns 9.93% of the capital. This would mean having a presence greater than 10% and this is where the role of the Government of Spain takes on special relevance.

The Executive of Pedro Sánchez approved in mid-2020 a measure that limited the entry of foreign capital into Spanish companies affected by the Covid-19 crisis, so if Vivendi wants to exceed 10% They must have government authorization.

Despite the communication to the General Sub-Directorate of Foreign Investments of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, from Vivendi they confirm that “is not in negotiations or conversations with any shareholder of Prisa for the acquisition of said shares “.

The French group announced at the end of January that it had acquired 9.93% of the shares of Prisa held by HSBC, three days after having entered its capital with 7.6%. With this movement it became the second largest shareholder of the communication group, only surpassed by Amber, which owns 29.8% (see graph). If the Government authorizes the request, it will become the majority shareholder.

Vivendi, which also owns Canal +, has billed 6,870 million euros until September, 8.5% more than in the same period of 2020. In the shareholding of Prisa, it coexists with Telefónica, which has 9.4%, Rucandio SA, the Polanco family company, which has 7.6%, the Qatari Jalid Thani Abdulá Al Thani, which controls 5.13%, and the Mexican Roberto Alcántara, with 5% through his company Gho Networks, among others.

Stock market falls

The French group wants to take control of Prisa at a delicate moment for the communication group. Its shares are down 37% and are very close to the lows for the year. The falls in the stock market are taking place in a year of many changes for the owner of El País. In fact, at the end of June the General Shareholders’ Meeting of the company gave the green light to the division of the group into two businesses: education (Santillana) and media (Prisa Media).

These drops will be temporary if the consensus of analysts that follows it in Bloomberg is heeded. Analysts estimate that in the coming months will appreciate more than 64% up to 0.92 euros per share. Its shares closed on Monday at 0.56 euros.

Although the market is clear that it will go up in the stock market, the advice it establishes is not so clear. Only 25% of the analysts who follow her at Bloomberg (2 experts) recommend buying their securities, compared to 62.5% (5 analysts) who only advise keeping them in their portfolio and 12.5% (a single analyst) who believe which is the best time to remove it from the wallet. You would have to go back to June 2008 to find a minor sales tip.