Ismael Clemente, Merlin Properties’ CEO
Currently, the records from the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores do not allow for the identification of the shareholders with transparency so that, according to Merlin Properties’ CEO, Ismael Clemente, «we need to spend some resources to privately identify the shareholders, which is currently not done properly because it is based on surveys. With luck you get to identify 80% of your capital», he explained in a webinar on shareholder activism organised by consultant LLYC.
For Ismael Clemente, «it is completely unfair that a manager has to have all his personal and family accounts fully audited and that he has to declare any movement he carries out with his shares, etc., and that the identity of the shareholders of a listed company is not known».
On the other hand, there are several vulture investors who want to invest in Spain precisely to buy shares. «When there is a period which affects the listings negatively and prices are low and attractive it becomes a breeding ground for any active investor», stated Merlin’s CEO quoted by newspaper Expansión.
Despite this law having already been debated by the Government, the pandemic crisis left it on the shelf until now and there is no forecast as to when it will be taken out again.
