Indra says Escribano M&E withdraws from potential acquisition (updated)

Indra Sistemas SA

19/03/2026 16:27

Adds Deputy Prime Minister quote in paragraph 6, context in 9

March 19 (Reuters) - Spanish defence company Indra IDR.MC on Thursday said that Escribano Mechanical and Engineering had withdrawn from the possible acquisition of EM&E by Indra.

The transaction had been a point of contention between state-owned fund SEPI, which owns a 28% stake in Indra, and Indra's chairman, Angel Escribano, who owns EM&E together with his brother Javier, who also sits on Indra's board.

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

SEPI had asked Indra on Wednesday to resolve a conflict of interest among shareholders before going further with the deal.

Spanish news website El Confidencial reported this week that Spain's government had urged SEPI to use its influence to force Escribano's dismissal over the dispute.

The Spanish government was not aware of a conflict of interest when Escribano was appointed chairman, Deputy Prime Minister Maria Jesus Montero said in an interview on RTVE earlier on Thursday.

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.

Indra had previously said it was
seeking an industrial partner
 in the defence industry and that EM&E would give it mass production capacity.

Shares in Indra fell as much as 19% after the news but ended the day 12.3% lower.

EM&E was not immediately available for comment.

 (Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga; Editing by David Latona, Kirsten Donovan and Cynthia Osterman)

 ((Javier.West@thomsonreuters.com; +34 918 35 61 12;))