Sacyr in pact to control Repsol

Spanish construction company Sacyr and Mexican state-owned energy group Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) have signed a joint shareholder pact to takeover Spanish oil and gas producer Repsol.

Sacyr is already Repsol's largest shareholder with 20% of the company. The agreement would see Pemex increase its holding to 9.8%, while both companies would push to gain more representation on Repsol's board.

On 2 September, Pemex nearly doubled its stake in Repsol from 4.9% to 9.5% after buying an additional 4.6% stake in the Spanish energy giant. The 56.4 million shares would be worth €1.1 billion at Repsol's closing price on 2 September.

Pemex plans to buy up the rest of the new stock before the end of this month, meaning that both companies would jointly control 29.8% of Repsol's shares. The pact would see Pemex and Sacyr syndicate their shares and vote together on Repsol's board.

Legal challenge

However, Repsol is reported to be preparing a legal challenge against Sacyr and Pemex amid concerns from its investors. The company is said to be investigating whether Pemex could be counted as a competitor company - a move which would block Pemex from Repsol's board room.