"A New Wave of Investment Is Reshaping the Financial Needs of Spanish Companies”

The European economy is entering a phase marked by profound industrial transformations. The energy transition, the rollout of digital infrastructure and the reconfiguration of key sectors are driving a new wave of investment and corporate activity, in which investment banking is once again at the centre of some of the most relevant decisions for corporate growth.

This momentum is also reflected in Spain. BBVA CIB has posted two consecutive years of double-digit growth and has supported investments of close to €20 billion in our country. According to José Ramón Vizmanos, these figures reflect the current position of a significant part of the corporate landscape. “We are entering a phase in which many enterprises are no longer focused solely on financing their activity, but on gaining scale, accelerating their transformation and positioning themselves more effectively for the next decade. And that requires much more sophisticated financial solutions,” he explains.

This new investment cycle is also redefining the role of investment banking. The shift is not limited to the volume of investment, but also to the nature of decisions. “Behind many transactions there are industrial plans, expansion ambitions, consolidation processes or technology investments that require a combination of strategic advisory, execution capabilities and access to capital,” says Vizmanos.

Corporate transactions in a more demanding environment

One of the areas where this evolution is most visible is the mergers and acquisitions market. Over the past twelve months, the BBVA CIB team in Spain has advised on 18 transactions with a Spanish component, in a global environment where economic uncertainty has increased the level of scrutiny applied to many deals.

According to Vizmanos, activity has not come to a halt, but its nature has changed. “Today, transactions do not respond solely to a growth rationale. They are driven by positioning. Companies are seeking to strengthen their position in sectors that are changing at great speed, secure critical capabilities or anticipate the next wave of transformation.”

"Companies are seeking to strengthen their position in sectors that are changing at great speed, secure critical capabilities or anticipate the next wave of transformation”

These types of processes require a combination of sector expertise, global presence and financial structuring capabilities. In areas such as energy, telecommunications, technology or digital infrastructure, this need for anticipation is driving some of the most relevant corporate moves in the Spanish market. “In many cases we are talking about complex processes where strategic advisory is combined with financing or with access to different capital markets,” explains Vizmanos.

This role is reflected in several recent transactions in the Spanish market. This year, BBVA has supported end-to-end corporate processes acting as financial advisor, such as in the sale of a 40% stake in FiberPass by Telefónica and Vodafone to AXA IM Alts, or as exclusive advisor in the sale of a majority stake in Juan Navarro to Tikehau Capital. Among the most relevant examples are Grupo Catalana Occidente, where BBVA acted as M&A advisor and played a key role in bank financing, and CIRSA, where it acted as Joint Bookrunner and agent bank in its IPO.

Companies, value chains and the energy transition

In this context, the energy transition has become one of the main drivers of investment for the next decade. In the last financial year, BBVA channelled €134 billion in sustainable finance globally, of which close to €50 billion was mobilised in Spain. “The energy transition is not only an environmental challenge; it is also a process of industrial transformation that will require large volumes of capital,” says Vizmanos.

This process is reflected both in large energy projects and in new technologies linked to the cleantech space. One example is the Verdalia transaction, which has become the largest financing closed in Europe in the biomethane sector, and in which BBVA acted as the main Spanish lender. This dynamic is also beginning to extend across the broader corporate landscape. “The real impact occurs when these solutions also reach mid-sized companies, industrial suppliers or consumers,” he adds.

At the same time, the way companies operate is changing. Large companies are increasingly dependent on the financial strength of their ecosystem of suppliers, industrial partners or distributors. “A company can no longer be analysed in isolation,” states Vizmanos. “Its strength increasingly depends on the resilience of its entire network.”

This broader perspective is driving financial solutions aimed at strengthening the broader business environment. Working capital financing programmes or supply chain finance solutions help improve the liquidity of companies across the production chain and strengthen their financial stability. This approach is particularly relevant in one of the major current challenges for companies: reducing emissions throughout their supply chain. “A large part of a company’s emissions are generated within its value chain,” explains Vizmanos. “If we want to advance decarbonisation, we also need to facilitate investment in that transition by suppliers and partners.”

New financing needs for enterprises

At the same time, the financial needs of mid-sized companies are evolving rapidly. Many family-owned businesses are facing processes of growth, internationalisation, consolidation or succession that require increasingly sophisticated financial structures. “For a long time, these types of solutions were reserved for large corporations,” explains Vizmanos. “Today we are seeing many mid-sized companies make a clear leap in financial sophistication because their challenges are also more complex and more ambitious.”

“Today we are seeing many mid-sized companies make a clear leap in financial sophistication because their challenges are also more complex and more ambitious”

Looking ahead, Vizmanos anticipates strong demand for capital linked to strategic sectors for the European economy. “The next decade will require very significant investment volumes,” he states. “The energy transition will continue to be one of the main drivers, but we will also see strong expansion in digital infrastructure, data centres and artificial intelligence.”

For the Head of BBVA CIB in Spain, this process marks a new phase for the country’s business landscape. “Spanish companies are entering a new stage,” he concludes. “The challenge now is to gain scale, invest and position themselves in sectors that will define the economy in the coming years.”

In this new environment, investment banking will play an increasingly decisive role: not only as a provider of financing, but as a strategic partner in decisions that will shape companies’ competitive positioning over the next decade.