Parlem ceases Ernest Pérez-Mas as president

BarcelonaParlem's board of directors has agreed to dismiss the company's executive president and founder, Ernest Pérez-Mas. According to a statement sent to BME Growth, the stock exchange for SMEs, the governing body of the Catalan telecom company has decided to dispense with its founder. His replacement as non-executive chairman will be lawyer Sílvia Martínez Losas. In the same communication, the company informs that Pérez-Mas will remain on the board as non-executive vice-chairman.

Beyond the change in the presidency, the board has agreed to distribute the company's main executive functions between Julio Sala and David Ayats, who will jointly hold the general management position. Likewise, Naiara Bueno Aybar will occupy the company secretary position, following the resignation of the until now secretary, Agustí Bou Maqueda.

The changes at the top of the telecom company come just a few weeks after the shareholders' meeting that served to change the balance of ownership. At that time, the shareholders agreed to convert into shares the debt of 17.5 million that the company owed to Inveready, Josep Maria Echarri's fund. With this operation, Inveready significantly increased its stake in the telecommunications company, from the previous 8% to the current 49%.

Beyond the changes to the board of directors, Parlem's board of directors has decided to execute the capital increase of up to 7.95 million euros that was agreed upon at the last shareholders' meeting, held on August 7. The company will issue more than 9.9 million new ordinary shares. As a result of this capital increase, Global Portfolio Investments, the holding company of the family that owns Mayoral, gains weight within the ownership.

The change of hands

The shift in ownership and management of the Catalan telecom was consummated three weeks ago, when shareholders approved a restructuring of the company's debt that boosted Inveready's position within the ownership. The main consequence of the decision was the dilution of the shareholding power of the company's Catalanist branch, formed by Pérez-Mas himself and Ona Capital, the fund of the Font family, owner of the Bon Preu group.

The first test of the loss of influence of Parlem's core group within the company was the expansion of the board of directors, also agreed upon at a shareholders' meeting. The new reference shareholders proposed adding six new members to the governing body, four of whom would represent Inveready. Among the two independent appointments, however, the name of the new president, Sílvia Martínez Losas, stood out.

The change in Parlem's presidency comes more than a decade after the company's founding. The founder already stepped down from executive functions in June 2024, when he was relegated to a non-executive presidency. At that time, the telecom appointed Xavier Capellades as CEO. Less than two years later, in March of this year, Capellades resigned from his position, and the shareholders appointed Pérez-Mas as executive president and granted him direct management responsibilities.

The upheaval at the company's top management came as a result of the troubled negotiations to integrate with the telecommunications company Avatel. A few months ago, Parlem decided to reject an integration with Avatel after Inveready, which is also a relevant shareholder, lowered its initial offer. This move has ultimately led to the company's current situation. 

Since his return to executive functions, Pérez-Mas had been seeking alternatives to prevent Inveready from taking control of the company. Nevertheless, facing a lack of options, he finally voted in favor of the debt restructuring that led to the expansion of Josep Maria Echarri's fund's position. The Catalan telecom's debt with Inveready, which was eventually converted into shares, originated from several loans made by Echarri's fund that became due at short term after, during the previous fiscal year, different financial ratios established in the financing contracts (covenants) were not met.