The Escribano brothers exit Indra's capital
The family business of Ángel Escribano, until recently president of Indra, controlled 14.3% of the share capital
MadridA 180-degree turn at the technology and defense company Indra. The Escribano brothers, Ángel Escribano (until recently, president of Indra) and Javier Escribano, have sold their stake in the Spanish defense company. Specifically, the two brothers controlled 14.3% of Indra's share capital through Advanced Engineering & Manufacturing, the company through which they also control their family business, Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E), as reported by the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). The sale of Indra's share capital comes after Ángel Escribano's resignation as president of Indra this April, precisely as a result of a tug-of-war with the Spanish government (which controls 28% of Indra through SEPI) over the potential acquisition by Indra of his family business, EM&E. Since this April, the new president is the Catalan Àngel Simón, former CEO of CriteriaCaixa. The sale of 14.3% of the share capital also means leaving Indra's board of directors, where they until recently held two seats.
Escribano's resignation as president occurred when the State acknowledged that there was a conflict of interest in Indra's purchase of the Escribano Group –currently on hold–. The situation led to a showdown between the Spanish government and Ángel Escribano, who always defended the operation. After SEPI publicly acknowledged its concern about a potential conflict of interest (although it had not opposed it until recently), Escribano was put in the spotlight: his departure was the only way to resolve the conflict. The question now is whether, after the departure of Ángel Escribano as president of Indra, and this Tuesday his family company as the second largest shareholder, the integration of the Escribano Group can be resumed. In this regard, Indra's CEO, José Vicente de los Mozos, indicated last week that the acquisition did not go through because the Escribano brothers ended up ruling out the operation and pointed out that if the conditions arise again in the future, Indra would "study it".
