ICF and Sabadell inject €1.8M of financing into Parlem
The loans arrive just after the board meeting that confirmed the change of hands in the shareholding
BarcelonaThe Institut Català de Finances (ICF) and Banc Sabadell are injecting 1.8 million euros into Parlem so that the company can meet its most immediate treasury needs. In a statement published on BME Growth - the stock exchange for small and medium-sized companies - the telecom catalana details that the operation is part of the execution of its business plan, based on generating positive cash flow after approving a restructuring of its debt.
In the document, Parlem details the breakdown of this funding. On the one hand, the company has received the first tranche of 800,000 euros from a loan signed with the Institut Català de Finances (ICF). The credit, which has a total amount of 2.2 million euros, is part of the ICF Pime Innova line, aimed at promoting technological innovation projects. In Parlem's case, the company intends to invest the resources in the implementation of artificial intelligence in internal processes and services.
The other financing route consists of renewing an existing credit policy with Banco Sabadell for one million euros. The product matures in August 2027, has a minimum interest rate of 3.15%, and does not include financial ratios that must be met (the so-called "covenants). As the company points out, the funds will be used to "finance the general treasury needs of the company".
Shake-up in the shareholding
The obtaining of loans comes after Parlem held, on August 7, the board that confirmed the most relevant change in shareholding since its founding. In that meeting, the Inveready fund and the Malaga family owning Mayoral – through their holding company, Global Portfolio Investment – gained a majority stake in the capital after the company opted to convert outstanding debt into shares.
After some unsuccessful attempts for Inveready to take control of the company, the president and founder of the company, Enric Pérez-Mas, voted in favor of the debt restructuring, accepting the change of hands. The counterpart to all of this was the decrease in the weight of the Catalanist branch within the group, formed by Pérez-Mas himself, and also Ona Capital, the fund of the Font family, owner of the Bon Preu group.
Pending the next board
After Parlem's shareholders voted in early August to convert a debt of 17.5 million euros of the Catalan company with Inveready into shares a debt of 17.5 million euros with the Catalan company and Inveready, the first major changes of this new phase could be decided at the next board meeting of the telco It is worth remembering that, during the same extraordinary general meeting, the Catalanist branch of Parlem also lost its majority on the board with the appointment of six new directors, four of them in favor of the fund chaired by Josep Maria Echarri and two more independents. As ARA has learned, structural changes are planned to occur at the company's next board meeting, both in the executive and institutional spheres.
Just before the short-term debts became known and during full discussions regarding a possible merger with Avatel – which did not end up happening – Parlem's management team already underwent its first major change. Last March, the then CEO of the company, Xavier Capellades, submitted his resignation, citing personal reasons. As a result of that move, Ernest Pérez-Mas regained executive functions and took over Capellades' position, a role he still holds.