Parlem and Avatel break off negotiations and integration is ruled out
The resignation comes after the Catalan's main shareholder made it known that he would not support the merger
BarcelonaFinally, there will be no integration between Parlem and Avatel. The Catalan telecom operator communicated this morning to BME Growth that it has received a letter from the state-owned company in which the operation is "irrevocably" renounced. The decision, according to Avatel would have assured them, would have been made after the "main shareholder" of Parlem expressed its "refusal to vote in favor of the operation on the terms proposed by Avatel".
Currently, the main shareholders of the Catalan company are Ona Capital, Global Portfolio Investments, and the company's founder, Ernest Pérez-Mas. The other major shareholder of the telecom operator is Inveready, also owner of Avatel and the main guarantor –until now– of the integration. According to sources familiar with the negotiation, as explained in ARA, Inveready currently holds a significant number of convertible bonds that could give them more weight within the shareholding. The same sources, however, assure that, should the investment fund decide to exercise them, they would be prepared to buy the debt from them to avoid losing control of the company.
Stalled negotiations
The negotiations between the parties were in a very advanced stage, but have stalled. In fact, as ARA has learned, a meeting of the board of directors was scheduled for this Friday to decide whether to accept the offer or not. Finally, a few hours before the decision was made, Avatel decided to withdraw the offer. The integration project foresaw Parlem consolidating Avatel's business in Catalonia, part of the Valencian Country, and the Balearic Islands, both its infrastructure and its customers. Inveready, for its part, would take over 50.1% of the Catalan company.
However, part of the reason for the breakdown in talks is due to a disagreement in the valuation of the businesses, according to Expansión. Parlem's 2025 results were not as expected, and Avatel insisted on modifying the exchange operation, taking over 60% of Parlem instead of 50.1%. Furthermore, during this Thursday, the Catalan company's shares plummeted by 17% from the start of the day, reaching 1.94 euros per share on the BME at midday.
The news of the breakdown in talks comes amid the "due diligence" process for the operation and just the day after it became known the resignation of Parlem's CEO, Xavier Capellades, and that Pérez-Mas, who was the chairman, would regain his executive functions. The possible integration of Avatel's assets had, in fact, already led the Catalan company's founder to become "very" involved in the day-to-day operations. Parlem has been looking to grow through mergers and acquisitions for some time, and Avatel's was not the only operation the company has on the horizon. For now, in a context of sector defragmentation, the company assures that it is committed to "a new stage focused on strengthening operational efficiency, simplifying the organization, and boosting cash generation".