Repsol is ready for war. When Sacyr and Pemex announced intentions of buying a majority stake in the leading Spanish petroleum company, CEO Antonio Brufau started to explore all the legal means available to slow down the assault from these two shareholders who are vying for financial and decision-making control.
Repsol's management could have to deal with Sacyr and Pemex's attempts to get rid of the 30.2% stake in Gas Natural that Repsol currently holds. The sell-off would bring in some liquidity for the company. According to Sacyr and Pemex, the deal would "improve cooperation and develop synergies for participating parties, benefitting Repsol as much as other participants."
So what legal recourse can Repsol use to defend itself from his attack? Basically, Sacyr and Pemex want 29.8% of the company. But there are ways to slow them down. For one, the Ley del Mercado de Valores (LMV) stipulates that a shareholder must go forward with a hostile takeover if it owns more than 30% of a company. While Sacyr and Pemex have been careful not to surpass the 30% share threshold that would force them to launch a hostile takeover bid, in the communication sent to the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), they admitted their intention to take over the company. How? By taking the maximum number of seats on Repsol's management committee in accords with the number of shares they hold, provided for by point number six in the agreement that the two shareholders signed.
