Ferrovial confirms in writing to the Government that it is going ahead with its exit from Spain
Ferrovial’s CEO, Ignacio Madridejoshas confirmed in writing to the Government that the preferred option is a dual listing from the Netherlands, an operation that responds to a number of reasons other than fiscal ones, and hopes that the institutions will respect the shareholders’ decision.
In the letter, Madridejos answers this way this Tuesday to the missive sent the day before by the Secretary of State of Economy, Gonzalo García Andrésand he expressed that he does not agree with the Government that there is no economic motivation in this merger project.
Ferrovial insists that dual listing from the Netherlands is an “expeditious and well known” alternative, while the possibility of achieving it from Spain lacks precedents and is subject to technical and operational questions that, in the best of cases, would make the timetable for its hypothetical implementation uncertain.
For that reason, he confirms, “Ferrovial’s board of directors has considered. preferable for the corporate interest to have recourse to already contrasted ways of direct quotation”.
Nevertheless, he thanks the government and public administrations for their commitment to promote the access of Spanish companies in international markets and to explore the path of dual listing on U.S. stock exchanges, and hopes that in the future Spanish companies will be able to benefit from this possibility.
Ferrovial’s CEO recalls that no issuer has raised this possibility in Spain, there has been no to date. no Spanish listed company with its shares directly admitted to trading in the USA, while there are numerous examples of companies domiciled in other European jurisdictions whose shares are directly listed in the USA.
Ferrovial notes that the transaction proposed to its shareholders is. justified for a number of reasonsnot only on the proven possibility of listing directly in the USA.
“An exciting operation”
“The proposed merger is an exciting operation that will has had the unanimous support of the board Ferrovial maintains that it expects to receive the approval of its shareholders,” Ferrovial said while waiting for the shareholders’ meeting to be held this Thursday, at which it will submit this transfer to a vote.
It also stresses that relevant institutional investors and independent entities such as the “proxy advisors“Glass Lewis or ISS support the proposal, which Ferrovial sees as a source of satisfaction.
Moreover, after the Government questions in its letter the economic motivation of the merger project, Ferrovial understands that it is alluding to the fact that the competent authorities will object to the merger coming under the tax neutrality regime.
“If it were the case, the Secretary of State for Economy should not prejudge. nor condition the purely technical criterion that should be applied to other agencies,” Madridejos points out in this regard.
Ferrovial adds that it is up to the shareholders to value the transaction.announced at the end of February, and insists that this transfer is not proposed for tax reasons, since the taxes that Ferrovial will pay after the transaction will be very similar to those it currently pays.
The operation, they reiterate, will not affect operational continuity of the Ferrovial group in Spain, where the activity, employment, projects, investment plan and share price will be maintained.
