Spain Buys Stake in Telefonica to Counter Saudi Arabia Deal
- Sepi plans to buy as much as 10% of the carrier’s capital
- Once approved by regulators, Saudi Telecom will own 9.9%
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Spain’s government has bought a 3% stake in Telefonica SA as it seeks to counter Saudi Telecom Co.’s presence in a company it considers strategic.
The Spanish state-holding Sepi has bought 175 million shares — a position worth about €698 million ($756 million) at Monday’s closing price, according to a regulatory filing. Telefonica rose 0.4% at 9:43 a.m. in Madrid.