In 2002, there were only two major initial public offerings in Spain, utility Enagas and bank Banesto, and in 2003 only one listing for media company Antena 3 TV. CSFB was global coordinator for two of these. Mergers and acquisitions activity was also at a low as large companies such as Telefónica, oil group Repsol YPF and banks Santander Central Hispano and BBVA suffered from Latin American turmoil, including the Argentine crisis. This was in addition to the lack of positive investor sentiment worldwide.
Top Spanish companies have now sold non-core assets and reinforced their balance sheets. “The tone is more positive. Plus the energy sector, for example, needs to restructure, after failed attempts [involving utilities Endesa and Iberdrola and Gas Natural with Iberdrola] a couple of years ago,” says Mr Rodriguez-Pina.
Andrés Esteban, managing director of Morgan Stanley, responsible for M&A in Spain, agrees: “We are seeing more and more clients actively considering their IPO plans again.”
Bankers say local consolidation in sectors such as construction, utilities and the media has reached its limits, so in the next five years European cross-border moves will prevail.
