Link Securities| The government is considering imposing conditions on the entry of the Saudi group STC in Telefónica (TEF), according to information from Bloomberg and as reported on Tuesday by the Expansión newspaper.
These would include limiting the sale of assets or limiting the payment of dividends. The possibility of applying some of the restrictions that were applied when the IFM fund became a shareholder of Naturgy (NTGY) is also being considered.
On the other hand, Expansión reports in today’s edition that Telefónica has clashed with the Argentinian government over the conditions of the auction called to bid for 5G frequencies in the 3.5 GHz band, which will support the bulk of the traffic of the new mobile technology. Telefónica, along with its two rivals Claro (owned by Carlos Slim) and Telecom (owned by newspaper group Clarín), which are the three main mobile telecommunications operators in Argentina, have threatened the Argentinian government with not taking part in the auction, as they consider that the conditions announced are unclear as to the viability of the business. In addition, the three firms consider it illegal to hold the auction in haste just before the presidential and legislative elections on 22 October.
