Spain has logged €410 billion in acquisitions since June 2018. Higher rates and state controls have cooled dealmaking even as the Ibex 35 climbed above 19,000 points.
Spain’s corporate deal market has lost a quarter of its value since Pedro Sánchez took office. Acquisitions of Spanish companies reached $460 billion between June 2018 and October 2026, or about €410 billion. The decline came while the Ibex 35 doubled and moved above 19,000 points.
According to EXPANSIÓN, the figures show a sharp contraction in mergers and acquisitions during a period of economic growth and rising stock valuations. The long-term $460 billion estimate and the 25% comparison depend on the underlying Dealogic dataset and methodology, which are not independently available in the materials reviewed.
The main obstacles were the escudo antiopas introduced after the Covid pandemic and the rise in interest rates following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The investment-control system has allowed the Council of Ministers to block or condition major transactions involving foreign buyers. Higher borrowing costs then made acquisitions more expensive, particularly for private equity funds that rely heavily on debt.
From January to September 2026, US investors completed 128 transactions in Spain, the same number as French investors, but led by investment value with €8.37 billion.
The political cost is becoming harder to ignore as Spain prepares for early elections on 29 November. The slowdown has hit large acquisitions, investment banks advising on deals and stock-market listings. The data give those firms little reason to view the current period as a success.
The contrast with the previous eight years is substantial. Between 2010 and June 2018, companies acquired Spanish assets worth more than $600 billion. During the current period, Orange’s purchase of 50% of MasOrange was the largest transaction, at about €17 billion including assumed debt. American Tower’s acquisition of Telefónica signal towers operator Telxius followed at €7.7 billion in 2021.
Abertis shows how different the previous cycle was. The takeover by ACS and Atlantia, now Mundys, closed at €32 billion in May 2018, shortly before Sánchez came to power. Since then, the market has produced fewer transactions of comparable scale.
The Orange Spain–MásMóvil merger, completed in March 2024, reduced the number of major mobile operators in Spain from five to four. Its scale helped support transaction value, but a single large deal should not be confused with a broad recovery in the number of transactions.
The escudo antiopas has directly affected several high-profile cases. The government vetoed a bid for Talgo and imposed conditions on IFM’s entry into Naturgy and Saudi operator STC’s investment in Telefónica. Foreign investors must obtain prior approval when seeking more than 10% of a listed company. That requirement may have discouraged more aggressive bids for those businesses and other Ibex groups.
Authorities also attached conditions to BBVA’s takeover attempt for Sabadell, which ultimately failed. The presence of Sepi in the technology and defence group Escribano prevented a merger between Indra and that company.
The Talgo case shows how investment screening can influence ownership as well as transaction terms. After the government blocked Hungarian Magyar Vagon’s proposal, state-owned SEPI entered Talgo’s capital. Spanish industrial group Sidenor then acquired almost 30% of the company in summer 2025 and obtained control.
Financing costs added a second brake. Energy prices rose after the invasion of Ukraine, inflation increased and interest rates followed. That combination hit leveraged buyers hardest. The acquisition of Urbaser by a consortium involving EQT and Blackstone in 2026 was the largest private equity transaction of the Sánchez period.
Large M&A deals have slowed, but they have not disappeared. TTR Data recorded 2,261 announced or completed transactions in Spain from January through September 2026, worth €73.8 billion. Deal count fell 15% year on year, while aggregate value declined 6%.
The weakness was uneven. In the third quarter, asset transactions rose 39% in value to €12.75 billion despite a 12% fall in their number. Venture capital registered 401 deals, 319 of them with disclosed value totaling €6.24 billion.
The same weakness is visible in new listings. Initial public offerings in Spain generated $8.8 billion, or €7.85 billion, during the period, 70% below the $32.5 billion raised in the previous eight years. Puig’s 2024 debut was the largest listing of the current period. Aena and Cellnex were among the defining offerings of 2015.
The European IPO market has also weakened, with HIP and Ignis waiting for a more suitable moment to list in Spain.
Cross-border capital has not disappeared, but it is concentrated. According to TTR Data, US investors were Spain’s leading foreign investors by value during the first nine months of 2026. Spanish companies made 48 investments in the United States worth €12.8 billion in total.
That two-way flow points to a narrower problem: the issue is the conditions under which international capital can be deployed in strategic Spanish assets.
The government is considering a major revision of the foreign-investment regime. Carlos Cuerpo’s Economy Ministry wants to make the escudo antiopas permanent for investors from other European Union member states, whose temporary protection expires in December. It also wants to define the strategic sectors requiring approval, potentially including data centres and energy facilities.
The reform would require changes to a 2003 law. The government may instead seek only a one-year extension for EU investors. The current mechanism remains in force through the end of 2026, leaving its longer-term future to the next government.
Spain’s stronger stock market has not revived its deal pipeline. Shares rose while acquisitions and listings fell. The Covid shutdown, the interest-rate shock and state intervention have shaped the decline, while the election approaches and the investment rules remain under review.
