Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica has replaced its president in a surprise move prompted by pressure from major shareholders.
At an extraordinary board meeting, Catalan businessman Marc Murta was chosen to succeed Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete. The decision was made in view of Telefonica's new shareholding structure. Some of its major shareholders have expressed a desire to start a new stage in the company's development.
State holding company SEPI, which recently acquired a 10% stake in Telefonica, had been pushing for Alvarez-Pallete to be replaced by Murtha, who currently heads Spanish consultancy group Indra, El Pais reported.
Murtra is close to the centre-left government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Alvarez-Pallete, who headed Telefonica since April 2016, will receive a 23 million euro severance package.
Telefonica, which operates in nine Latin American countries, has been going through a turbulent period since Saudi group STC acquired a 9.9% stake in September 2023. This prompted the Spanish state to re-enter the group's capital through SEPI to protect its strategic role of providing services to the country's armed forces. Spanish banking group La Caixa also increased its stake to 9.9%. | BGNES, AFP
