The State controls ten listed companies, seven in the Ibex, with stakes amounting to around €50 billion. The elections on 29 November will determine who leads SEPI and the main public companies.
The State is a shareholder in ten listed companies, seven of which are in the Ibex 35, with stakes totalling around €50 billion at market prices. This map of corporate power will be decided at the polls on 29 November, according to merca2.es.
At the centre of this framework is the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI), the Government's investment arm attached to the Ministry of Finance and chaired by Belén Gualda since March 2021. Its mandate is directly dependent on political power: it is appointed by the Government through royal decree. SEPI not only controls companies 100%, but also authorises, at the proposal of its presidency, the appointment of the directors representing the holding in its subsidiaries.
In Telefónica, Carlos Ocaña serves as director and vice-chairman; in Redeia, the state seat is occupied by José Luis Navarro; in Enagás, the voice of the state society is Bartolomé Lora. Indra has SEPI as its largest shareholder with 28% of the capital, while in Telefónica the State controls 10%.
When the State holds a significant shareholding position, its influence over the top management goes far beyond collecting dividends.
Two episodes illustrate this mechanism. On 17 January 2025, José María Álvarez-Pallete visited the governmental complex, and the next day, an extraordinary council ended nearly nine years of presidency to appoint Marc Murtra. The change occurred after the State reached 10% of the operator, and the company itself linked it to its new shareholding structure. In Indra, Ángel Escribano resigned on 1 April after pressures received during a crisis regarding the potential integration of his family business into the defence giant; SEPI, the largest shareholder, had expressed its concern over the conflict of interest and he was replaced by Ángel Simón. In 2021, the state holding already pushed for Fernando Abril-Martorell to leave Indra.
The pattern is repeated in other companies. In Red Eléctrica, Jordi Sevilla resigned in 2020 citing unforeseen external restrictions after months of regulatory friction. In Aena, Maurici Lucena became president just a month and a half after the 2018 vote of no confidence. Since SEPI reinforced its position in Indra and entered Telefónica, both companies have accumulated nearly a hundred movements among senior executives and directors.
The most telling precedent is from 2018. Seven weeks after the vote of no confidence against Mariano Rajoy, on 19 July, SEPI's council approved the replacement of eight presidents of public companies in one go: Correos, Navantia, Tragsa, Hunosa, Enusa, EFE, Saeca, and Cetarsa. Several of those appointed that summer are still in position today.
The future Executive will not be able to immediately renew the leadership of the main economic bodies. The CNMC, led by Juan José Ganuza, will maintain its council until 2032 and will have sensitive files on the table: the investigation into six listed banks for their fixed-rate mortgage policies and the cases regarding the 2025 blackout. The CNMV, headed by Carlos San Basilio until 2030, will set the pace for major concentration operations. The Bank of Spain, directed by José Luis Escrivá until 2030, will be the main voice of fiscal supervision. The Nuclear Safety Council will be key in the debate over the continuity of nuclear power beyond 2030, with mandates until 2031.
The electoral call leaves strategic decisions open: Indra will present its new roadmap on 25 November, four days before the elections, while Telefónica executes its Transform & Grow 2026-2030 plan.
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