Ferrovial’s largest shareholder and chairman, Rafael del Pino, spoke for the first time since the announcement of the company’s headquarters relocation from Spain to the Netherlands. “Ferrovial will not leave Spain: it will keep its activity, employment, projects, investment scheme, tax contribution and listing on Spanish stock exchanges. Spain has always been our country and we will not give up,” Del Pino said. “.
After the controversy created by the statement, the President stated at the General Assembly that the transfer of Ferrovial was “part of the Convention”. Freedom of establishment, which feeds the essence of the European Union“.
In addition, the largest shareholder said, “Currently, more than 90% of Ferrovial’s equity value comes from its international operations, with over 90% of institutional investors international and 75% of the company’s value is assets located in North America.“.
Rafael del Pino believes that “merger is part of Ferrovial’s natural evolution to improve its international growth by aligning its corporate structure with its business, facilitating access to better financing conditions, and bringing the company closer to American investors”.
Taxation of Ferrovial after its transfer
The government implied that Ferrovial was moving its headquarters to the Netherlands for tax reasons. However, during the Meeting, Del Pino replied to the Manager: “There is no operation for tax reasons. […]. Ferrovial’s post-operation taxes will be very similar Who do you pay before you do this? Ferrovial will continue to contribute financially to Spain, as it has been since its establishment.” The President emphasized that during 2022 Ferrovial pays 282 million euros in taxes in Spain.
Rafael del Pino said, “As the Spanish and Community courts have shown, the existence of valid economic reasons and the fact that we are not seeking any tax advantage, operation can benefit from the fiscal neutrality regime for mergers“, after questioning by the Government.
Excerpt in the United States
One of the reasons Ferrovial advocates moving its headquarters is because it’s easier to be listed from the Netherlands to the United States. Del Pino states that this mechanism is “a Proven route by numerous European companies to be listed in the United States in a short time“.
They gave assurances from the Ministry of Economy, led by Nadia Calviño, that both Bolsas y Mercados Españoles (BME) and the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) are analyzing whether there are difficulties in going directly from Spain to the US stock market. The president of Ferrovial replied: This mechanism, which will be launched in New York, is “not easy and short” and “both process and execution time are uncertain”.