Chair of Spain's Indra resigns after failed deal with own company (updated)

Indra Sistemas SA

01/04/2026 18:20

Adds appointment of chairman, CEO confirmation in paragraphs 1 and 5, share move in paragraph 6; updates dateline.

Indra shares fall 3% on Thursday, after turbulent trading a day earlier

Escribano quits after failed Indra-EM&E deal and reported government pressure

New chair Angel Simon reportedly nominated by state fund SEPI, Indra's top shareholder

By Gemma  Guasch

April 2 (Reuters) - Spanish defence firm Indra IDR.MC appointed Angel Simon Grimaldos as non-executive chairman and director on Thursday, a day after Angel Escribano resigned following a failed deal with his own company and reported government pressure for his exit.

Simon, former CEO of Criteria Caixa, was nominated as chair by state-owned fund SEPI, which holds a 28% stake in Indra, according to a report by Spanish paper La Vanguardia.

Escribano handed in his resignation on Wednesday, saying that staying on could "jeopardise the company’s stability", two weeks after Escribano Mechanical and Engineering (EM&E) withdrew from a potential acquisition by Indra due to a conflict of interest.

EM&E has a 14.3% stake in Indra, making it the second-largest shareholder behind SEPI.

Indra said on Thursday Jose Vicente de los Mozos would continue as chief executive officer.

Indra shares went on a roller-coaster ride on Wednesday after several news outlets reported Escribano was about to resign, but closed 3% higher before his exit was confirmed. They fell 3% in early Thursday trading.

Escribano, who owns EM&E together with his brother Javier, and SEPI have been at loggerheads over the failed Indra-EM&E deal and the conflict of interest, which SEPI had previously asked Indra to resolve among shareholders.

     “The events of recent weeks have created a situation which, aside from the personal strain, threatens to undermine the objectives that have driven me from day one and which I consider essential for the future of Indra and the sector,” Escribano said in his letter of resignation.

 The Spanish government has been taking a more active role through SEPI in companies it considers strategic, helping to replace Telefonica's TEF.MC previous CEO Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete with Marc Murtra, who previously chaired Indra.

The government has publicly said it was not aware of a conflict of interest when Escribano was appointed chair.

(Reporting by Gemma Guasch; editing by Andrei Khalip and Milla Nissi-Prussak)

((gemma.guasch@thomsonreuters.com ; +48 58 746 90 08))