After purchasing a 9.9% stake in Telefónica for €2.1 billion, Saudi Telecom became its largest shareholder.
Saudi telecommunications company STC Group acquired a 9.9% stake in Telefónica for 2.1 billion euros, thus becoming the largest shareholder of the Spanish operator. This is stated in a message from the Arab company.
Telefónica has also informed the Spanish Securities and Exchange Commission (CNMV) of the transaction, which will be implemented through the purchase by Saudi Telecom of shares representing 4.9% of Telefónica’s share capital and financial instruments of a further 5%.
The Saudi company explained that it has no intention to buy a controlling or majority stake in Telefónica. Its CEO Olayan Alvetaid emphasized that this agreement represents an excellent investment opportunity, allowing the company to leverage a strong balance sheet while maintaining an attractive dividend policy.
Until now, Telefónica’s largest shareholder remained BBVA, which owns 4.87% of the company’s shares. It was followed by the American fund BlackRock, which owned 4.48% of shares. Caixabank has a 3.5% stake in the Spanish multinational company.
Saudi Telecom is a leader in the digital technology market in the Middle East. It offers innovative products and services in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and North Africa.
We previously reported that Telefonica was phasing out its copper networks in Spain, replacing them with fibre-optic connections (FTTH).
Source: https://mediasat.info/