Európolis

La edición europea del Wall Street Journal se pregunta por las consecuencias ¿positivas? ¿negativas? de las nuevas tentaciones españolas de “nacionalismo bursátil”.
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Una temporada en el Infierno. Micro Estados y eclipse de Europa.

Follow up:

WSJ (www.wsj.com), 13 julio 2006:

For Europe's Exchanges, Nationalism Persists
By ALISTAIR MACDONALD

When Spanish stock-exchange operator Bolsas & Mercados Espanoles lists shares on its own market Friday, opening itself to investors for the first time in its 170-year history, it will do so under one condition: You must ask permission to buy more than 1%.
The Spanish government put the requirement in during May as BME, based in Madrid, was gearing up for its market debut. Under the rule, no investor can build up a direct or indirect stake of more than 1% in BME without consent from the country's market regulator, the Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores, or CNMV. The CNMV has to approve each further percent bought by any investor, up to 5%, and each 5% thereafter.
Anyone seeking a controlling stake needs permission from the Spanish government, according to the prospectus for BME's initial public offering. It said the requirement is to ensure the orderly running of capital markets.
The requirement is a sign of how, even as Europe's stock exchanges consolidate, nationalism and protectionism still exist. BME has been mentioned as a possible addition to Euronext NV, the exchange operator that runs financial markets in Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Lisbon and London and has agreed to a merger with NYSE Group Inc., owner of the New York Stock Exchange. Deutsche Börse AG, operator of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, is seeking Euronext with a rival bid.
Spain's actions could discourage hedge funds from investing in BME. In the past two years, hedge funds have played a significant role in determining the future of some European exchange companies by buying large stakes in them and then agitating for change. Hedge funds Children's Investment Fund Management (U.K.) LLP, known as TCI, and Atticus Capital LP helped force the resignation of Deutsche Börse Chief Executive Werner Seifert last year after disagreements following Mr. Seifert's attempt to buy the London Stock Exchange PLC.
The requirement is "to make BME only open to friendly consolidation and keep activist shareholders from unduly influencing management, the way they have other exchanges," said Mamoun Tazi, analyst at Man Securities in London.
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About 70% of trading on BME comes from outside Spain. But the government's interest in determining who gets to buy into the exchange itself reflects the fact that stock exchanges still are regarded by many in Europe as companies worthy of national protection.
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Spain's requirement of permission to build a stake doesn't necessarily prevent a takeover of BME. BME has said it is open to exchange consolidation, though it hasn't been in any recent talks. The move nonetheless may put some investors off buying into BME.
A requirement that investors report ownership greater than 1% would be a "slight negative" and one that requires regulators to approve any increase in an investment stake larger than that 1% would be a major problem for prospective investors, says David Herro, chief investment officer, international, at Harris Associates LP of Chicago, which in recent years owned large stakes of some European exchanges.
Mr. Herro said the terms may reflect a newer government in Spain that is concerned about ceding too much control over the country's stock trading, but doesn't see the need for the extra rules.
"It's an exchange, not a missile maker," he said.