(Bloomberg) -- The Spanish government extended for a year special powers taken on early in the pandemic that allow it to block foreign takeovers of strategic companies.
The cabinet council approved the extension until the end of 2022 in order to “protect the safety, health and public order, as well as guarantee the legal security of the operators,” the economy ministry said in a statement. The powers were set to expire at the end of this year.
The government gave itself the ability to block acquisitions of core assets or businesses amid concern that foreign buyers would swoop in to buy up Spanish firms after the pandemic spurred a plunge in equity valuations.
Under the rules, any purchase by a foreign investor of a stake greater than 10% in a strategic, publicly-traded company needs approval from Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his cabinet. The same requirement applies for acquisitions of stakes valued at 500 million euros ($563.2 million) or more in strategic unlisted companies.
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