Madrid. Mexican businessman Carlos Slim decided to increase his stake in Grupo Prisa, which will go from 4.3 to 7 percent of the shares, making it the third reference partner of the influential Spanish media emporium, currently controlled by international financial groups. especially the investment fund Amber Capital and the French Vivendi.
In addition, given the electoral uncertainty this year in which there are regional, municipal and general elections, the group’s board of directors was renewed and increased its number of seats, strengthening the power of the current president, the financier Joseph Oughourlian.
Slim continues to expand his investments in Spain, where he already has a strong business network in strategic sectors such as infrastructure, telecommunications, energy, the media and real estate. Currently, the Mexican businessman controls the FCC construction company, which he rescued from bankruptcy a few years ago; real estate Realia, which once belonged to Caja Madrid and Bankia before they were rescued by the State in the financial crisis of 2008; 20 percent of Metrovacesa; He is a preferred shareholder in Gas Natural, and now owns 7 percent of Grupo Prisa, the publisher of various media outlets, such as the newspaper The countryCadena Ser, XEW, Five daysRadio Caracol and the newspaper As, among others. In addition to numerous publishers, such as Santillana.
Slim’s business maneuver occurred in a turbulent week within the board of directors of Grupo Prisa, which currently has two majority partners and who are in an open struggle for control of the media empire, and who are the French financial fund Vivendi and Amber Capital, which is the majority shareholder, with 29.5 percent.
Slim’s operation was possible thanks to the execution of convertible bonds that the media outlet issued at the end of 2022 to avoid bankruptcy or, in the best of cases, the suspension of payments of the bulky debt that weighs down its finances, which currently exceeds one billion euros (20 billion pesos).
Slim bought these shares through the company with which he controls his investments in the media in Spain, which from now on will have the same shareholding power as other medium-sized groups with a presence in Prisa, such as Global Alconaba (7.07 percent), the firm of Andrés Varela Entrecanales, and Rucandio (7.6 percent), from the family of the group’s founder, Jesús de Polanco. It was precisely the Alconaba Group that maneuvered less than a year ago to remove from the board of directors another Mexican businessman, Roberto Alcántara, who owns 5 percent of the media company.
Close relationship with the government of Pedro Sánchez
In addition, in the midst of these financial maneuvers, the president of Prisa, Oughourlian, made two strategic moves to be decisive in the future operations of the company, especially when Spain is immersed in an electoral process with uncertain results, with the regional elections and municipal elections next Sunday, and with the general elections at the end of the year. The Prisa Group maintains close and cordial relations with the current president of the government, the socialist Pedro Sánchez, to the point that two men very close to the current president are part of the Prisa board of directors, Miguel Barroso and José Miguel Contreras.
The founder of Amber Capital managed to increase the number of directors, which will go from 13 to 15, with three appointments related to his cause, in addition to approving a crucial investment for the future of the media group in the semi-public company Indra, of which Amber Capital currently has 7 percent.
Indra is a leading technology consulting company, but it is also specialized in the manufacture of computer equipment for Defending
and for international financial services.