The Supreme Court has denied the precautionary measure requested by Santa Bárbara to suspend two loans for special armament modernization programs (PEM) of 3,000 million euros to the temporary union of companies (UTE) formed by Indra Sistemas and Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&M), as reported by the high court this Monday.

The Ministry of Defense has dismissed the appeal filed by the defense company Santa Bárbara Sistemas, a subsidiary of the North American General Dynamics, against the contracts for the new wheeled and tracked artillery for the Spanish army, which the government of Pedro Sánchez awarded to Indra and Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E) last year, as reported by the ministry. The artillery contracts amounted to 7.24 billion euros and were part of the Special Modernization Programs (PEM) that the government of Pedro Sánchez approved and awarded last year to increase military spending to 2% of GDP, as committed to NATO. In a statement, the ministry explains that it "agrees to the full dismissal of all claims filed" by Santa Bárbara.

Indra has once again avoided the political fray. The current chairman, Ángel Escribano, will remain at the helm of the company despite the recent tensions with the Spanish government, Indra's largest shareholder through SEPI. In fact, a plan B wasn't even discussed at Wednesday afternoon's board meeting, according to sources familiar with the process at the ARA (Spanish Association of Indra's Board of Directors). The company's highest governing body also refrained from questioning the continuity of CEO José Vicente de los Mozos, whose term expires in June. Sources familiar with the process explained to Europa Press that this item was not on the meeting's agenda either. This time, the controversy has been sparked by the potential merger—currently on hold—between Indra and the Escribano Group, also involved in defense, and the potential conflict of interest that could arise (the Escribano Group is not only an Indra shareholder with 14.3% of the share capital).

The Spanish government is maintaining its standoff with Indra's president, Ángel Escribano. The dispute between the company's two main shareholders—the State, through SEPI, with 28% of the capital, and the Escribano brothers, owners of Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E), with 14.3%—continues ahead of the ordinary board meeting scheduled for this Wednesday. This meeting will take place after the Escribanos attempted to stem the pressure from the Spanish government by shelving the proposed merger of Indra with their family company.

Indra's board of directors, in an extraordinary meeting, decided to postpone the planned merger with Escribano Mechanical & Engineering SL (EM&M). The decision was proposed by the chairman, Ángel Escribano, who also co-owns EM&M with his brother Javier. With this move, Escribano circumvents the demand from the State, Indra's largest shareholder through SEPI, which had called for his resignation should the integration project proceed. SEPI, the state-owned holding company that controls 28% of Indra's capital, considered this the only way to avoid a conflict of interest, even though measures had been taken to prevent the businessman from participating in the merger aimed at creating a major Spanish defense group. SEPI argued that a conflict of interest would arise if the integration went ahead and Indra acquired a company co-owned by its own chairman. The Escribano family, for their part, have opted to propose to the board of directors that the merger be halted and that Ángel Escribano remain as chairman of Indra. EM&M holds 14.3% of Indra's capital, Ángel Escribano is its chairman, and his brother is also a board member. In this context, the company's shares registered a significant drop, exceeding 16%. The session ended with a loss of more than 12%, down to €50, and a reduction in the company's value of approximately €1.3 billion. The session had already begun in the red after SEPI acknowledged on Wednesday night that a conflict of interest existed regarding the potential acquisition of EM&M. In a communication to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), the state-owned company stated that it had conveyed to Indra its "concern about the influence that the conflict of interest has on the analysis of this operation, despite the measures taken to mitigate it." He insisted that any conflict of interest between Indra and EM&E should be resolved before the transaction took place. For this reason, he requested that "this conflict of interest be resolved so that we can continue with the analysis of the transaction and make a decision that is as advantageous as possible for Indra."

The State Holding Company for Industrial Participations (SEPI), the state's investment arm, has acknowledged a conflict of interest at Indra, the state-owned technology and defense company, regarding the potential acquisition of Escribano Mechanical & Engineering SL (EM&M), a defense company owned by the family of Indra's chairman. In a statement to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), SEPI indicated that it "has conveyed to Indra its concern about the influence this conflict of interest has on the analysis of this transaction, despite the measures taken to mitigate it." In fact, SEPI asserts that any conflict of interest between Indra and EM&M should be resolved before the transaction takes place. For this reason, SEPI stated, it requested that "this conflict of interest be resolved so that the analysis of the transaction can continue and a decision can be made that is as advantageous as possible for Indra."

Indra shares led the stock market declines on Tuesday, falling by more than 8% and ending the session with a 4.19% loss at €57.10. Analysts attribute this negative performance to reports that the Spanish government, through SEPI, its main shareholder with over 25%, has requested the dismissal of the company's president, Ángel Escribano.

Indra's board of directors will be able to decide on the integration of the defense company Escribano without the approval of the supervisory committee ad hoc who must ensure there is no conflict of interest, since the president of the technology company is Ángel Escribano, who is also a shareholder of Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E). Furthermore, EM&E is a shareholder of Indra. If this transaction were to occur, it should be led by Indra's CEO, José Vicente de los Mozos, and the Escribano family should be excluded from the decision-making. Such an integration would, in any case, require approval from Indra's shareholders.

Who manufactures weapons in Spain? The European consortium Airbus, Navantia (a state-owned company), Indra, GDELS-Santa Bárbara Sistemas, Expal, and ITP Aero. These are the major players in the Spanish military industry, which, as in most countries, concentrates the bulk of the business in the hands of a few. Specifically, these six companies control 80% of the market. In Catalonia, only Indra has a presence: it has up to 12 facilities spread across the region, with 3,500 employees. Indra, an IBEX 35 company headquartered in Madrid, has made significant progress in recent years, ever since the Sánchez government assigned it the role of "national coordinator" in the program to replace the Eurofighter aircraft in 2019. In 2020, Marc Murtra, from the Socialist Party, arrived as non-executive chairman—he is now executive chairman of Telefónica. With 28% of the share capital, the State is Indra's largest shareholder. Murtra's predecessor was Fernando Abril-Martorell, a member of the People's Party (PP). The current CEO is Ángel Escribano: Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E Group) is Indra's second-largest shareholder, with 14.3%. The other major shareholders are the Basque company SAPA (7.9%) and the Amber fund (7.3%), the main owner of Prisa. In 2024, Indra's profit increased by 35% compared to the previous year, reaching €278 million.

"It was a long five months," explains pastry chef Christian Escribà on the very day he raised the shutters of his pastry shop on La Rambla. It's Wednesday, December 3rd, and Escribà is happy because he'll be able to tackle the Christmas season for a few days. When the renovation work began on the main thoroughfare that connects the city to the sea, the pastry chef kept his shop open, but There came a moment when he realized that only "dust and noise" were getting in.So he closed until everything was finished. "And only part of it is finished, because on January 15th I'll have to close again because a new phase of the work will begin, the sidewalk work, which is linked to the water pipes," he says. However, the pastry chef is reopening with joy and with changes to the shop he acquired in 1986, when he was 25 years old.

Pastry chef Christian Escribà will reopen his Escribà pastry shop on La Rambla, formerly known as Antigua Casa Figueras, in the middle of next month to prepare for the Christmas season. Last summer, he decided to close its doors and put up a "Closed for Holidays" sign because, until then, the construction work on La Rambla between the Liceu opera house and the Boqueria market meant there was "nothing but noise and no customers." The closure has, of course, resulted in financial losses and the dismissal of five of his seven employees. However, the pastry chef says that the City Council has kept them informed about the progress of the construction (they have found remains of city walls), given them a new completion date—it should have already been finished, but it will now be next month—and assured them that, once the work is completed, there will be a redesign of the space, which they have discussed with them.

Indra's board of directors will hold an extraordinary meeting this Thursday to begin discussions regarding a potential transaction with Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E) to strengthen its defense business, according to sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Europa Press. No agreement is expected to be reached today, nor is any communication to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) regarding this potential transaction expected.

One option when making a will is to give the estate, or a portion of it, to charitable organizations. However, in practice, very few people who leave an inheritance choose this option. Last year, 61,854 inheritances were registered in Catalonia, and only 0.32% included a charitable donation, although these totaled €56.73 million. Of these, 55% went to NGOs and 45% to the Church, according to data from the Notarial Association of Catalonia.

The drums of a merger are beating in the defense sector. Indra is considering the possibility of a merger with one of its main shareholders, Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E Group). It so happens that one of the co-founders of this family business, Ángel Escribano, is currently the chairman of Indra, in which EM&E Group holds a 14% stake. Indra, which admitted this Friday in a statement to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) that talks have taken place, has hired KPMG to analyze the transaction and estimates that EM&E Group's value is between €1 billion and €1.5 billion, as reported by Expansión. On Thursday night, Javier Escribano, chairman of Escribano and brother of Ángel Escribano, stated that "the company Escribano is not for sale, and is worth much more than €1 billion" in statements to The Newspaper.

An average of 50 hours of study per week for five years. This is the amount of time devoted by the 92 people who passed the latest public notary exams. It is estimated that at least 3,000 hours of study are required to pass this exam, and it is considered one of the most difficult exams. Catalonia is where most of the most recent passers will work in the entire country: 28 will practice starting this spring, and of these, ten are Catalan. ARA has spoken with three of them now that they have the goal they have been pursuing for so long.