Víctor Rodríguez and Inveready close the purchase of Avatel

The Avatel soap opera is over. The fifth-largest Spanish telecommunications operator finally changed hands today. The parties closed the transaction throughout the day, which means that the telecommunications company, which ranks fifth in revenue in Spain behind Telefónica, Masorange, Vodafone, and Digi, will now be 100% controlled by Pangea Telecom SL, a company majority-owned by Vaiia Kapital, with 50.1%, and by funds managed by the private equity group Inveready, with the remaining 49.9%. Vaiia is the holding company of the family of Víctor Rodríguez, founder and until now chairman of the operator. The management company Inveready is controlled by Josep María Echarri, and other like-minded investors, mainly family offices, who support Inveready in various projects, also participated in this transaction. These investors include Onchena , the family office of the Basque Ybarra Careaga family; José Eulalio Pozas, former president of Ibercom and vice president of MásMóvil; and the Domínguez family, owners of the children's clothing chain Mayoral. These three groups supported Inveready in MásMóvil . Other Basque families who are MásMóvil partners in the netco Bidasoa also participate.

The transaction closed with an equity value of €230 million , and in addition to renegotiating the debt, investors have committed to a €105 million capital increase.

Eight months

The transaction is formalized through the execution of the purchase agreement signed on October 5, 2024, and represents the full acquisition of Avatel Telecom, SAU from Avant Telecom, SA, its previous shareholder. Following the signing of the agreement on October 5, authorization from the CNMC (National Commission for the Promotion of Foreign Investment) was obtained relatively quickly, arriving around Christmas time. However, authorization from the government's foreign investment department—Víctor Rodríguez is an Andorran national—has been delayed for eight months since then.

Avatel was founded in 2011 on the Costa del Sol and has grown rapidly in recent years thanks to intensive acquisition activity involving more than 150 local and regional operating companies.

In 2024, the group closed with revenues of approximately €340 million and EBITDA of €75 million after leases (payments to wholesale providers). At that time, it had approximately 750,000 fiber optic or convergent customers and just under 700,000 mobile customers.

Negotiations with Parlem

Avatel is in negotiations with the Catalan virtual operator Parlem to integrate its activities in Catalonia, as EXPANSIÓN reported on June 4. These negotiations were subsequently confirmed by Parlem .

Telefónica's interest

The closing of the transaction under these conditions, with the purchase by Víctor Rodríguez and Inveready, represents a reversal of expectations in the sector, which in previous months had considered the possibility of Avatel being acquired by either a private equity fund or Telefónica.

Initially, Banco Santander, Avatel 's advisor, had been evaluating offers from international funds such as PAI Partners, allied with Inveready, HIG Capital, and SearchLight. Telefónica subsequently expressed interest in the project, although sources close to the process clarify that the Spanish operator had been out of the negotiations for several months before the final closing. The reason is that the sale process was halted and reoriented since, in July 2024, Víctor Rodríguez expressed his intention to acquire the majority stake in Avatel along with other partners.