Full support from the Alicante Provincial Council for Sabadell in the face of BBVA’s hostile takeover offer
The Alicante Provincial Council held an extraordinary session this Monday to formalize its backing of Sabadell, the bank headquartered in Alicante, against the hostile bid launched by BBVA. This session followed a formal request submitted the previous week by the Socialists within the provincial body to convene the meeting. The government team, led by the PP, promptly scheduled the extraordinary session for this Monday to address the matter.
In a press release, the Popular Party explained that the decision to defend Sabadell had already been considered for discussion at the next governors’ meeting and later debated at the ordinary plenary of June. Ultimately, the proposal, which sought to echo the provincial institution’s support for Sabadell, was advanced through the extraordinary session this Monday. The motion gained the approval of the Socialist group, the People’s Party, and Compromís, with Vox abstaining.
Vicente Arques, the Socialist group’s spokesman in the provincial institution, presented the motion to defend Sabadell against BBVA’s hostile offer. He noted that the group had requested the plenary session to secure a clear pronouncement on the hostile bid. He stated that during May 9 the hostile bid was public, and throughout May 10, 11, and 12 the Diputación de Alicante did not publicly comment, a silence he described as deafening.
Joaquín Perles, a provincial deputy from Compromís, voiced support for the initiative while recalling that the hostile bid is the result of earlier actions that began under CAM. He argued that if BBVA now pursues Sabadell, it directly affects the Alicante headquarters, originally part of CAM. Perles framed the situation as a consequence of acts of the free market, ultraliberalism, and oligopoly, warning that such changes impact more than bank branches, extending to the region’s financial fabric as a whole.
Gema Alemán, the Vox spokesperson, announced her party would abstain, explaining that prudence is warranted until the operation’s details are fully understood. She argued that the institution has no explicit competence in the matter and expressed concern about perceived concentrations of political and media power. Her comment pointed to a broader mistrust suggesting that the Socialist party had opposed the consolidation of banking power while a wave of public concentration was taking shape.
Ana Serna, the Popular Party spokesperson, stated that her group supported the Socialist proposal but criticized the handling. She said the assembly had treated the issue as a race to be the first to act, while she believed it should have begun with a consensual text or a joint motion. Serna accused the government of prematurely shaping the message to gain leverage and claimed that she had not heard the Socialist side articulate their position in those terms. She argued that the interests of Alicante would be defended, and that the party would oppose anything that harmed the province.
Additionally, the president of the Diputación, Toni Pérez, addressed the debate after it concluded to emphasize that the province’s interests are protected from the outset, even if some parties preferred a different approach. He recalled that on May 8, when a friendly acquisition proposal was on the table, the council held an ordinary plenary meeting where no one spoke about the bid. Pérez noted that Europe’s day came the following day, coinciding with news of the hostile bid, and stressed that the friendly offer is not better for the province than the hostile one. He suggested that the lack of discussion prior to the bid reflects broader considerations about the territory and its economy.