Consistency and coherence: keys to “moments of truth” in M&A

We hosted the market’s leading players at our Madrid offices to analyze the M&A landscape in Spain. The meeting served to delve into transformative corporate operations—those that represent an authentic “moment of truth” for entire sectors or the economy as a whole.

Through dialogue with experts from Banco Sabadell, Uría Menéndez, Goldman Sachs, Indra, Belog, and Hyperion, we explored the factors that determine success in situations of maximum complexity. The conversation focused on understanding how narrative consistency and cohesion between teams allow for the successful resolution of long-term processes, such as hostile takeovers, and what the investment forecasts are for the coming years.

The session, introduced by Iñaki Ortega, Director of the Madrid office, was structured into three analysis panels where key insights were presented:

Strategy and Narrative: Under the coordination of Luis Guerricagoitia, the first panel included Marc Prat, General Manager of Strategy and Efficiency at Banco Sabadell; Virginia Zafra, General Manager of Communication and Corporate Image; and two of their advisors during the hostile takeover bid launched by BBVA: Olaf Díaz Pintado (Goldman Sachs) and Carolina Albuerne (Uria). Together, they reviewed the keys to the success of Sabadell’s defense strategy during the operation. The first was maintaining a consistent narrative from the first day of the bid to the last, throughout the year and a half the process lasted. The second was knowing how to combine narrative and figures into a single story capable of answering all the “hows,” thereby activating the emotional component. And the third was maintaining frequent communication micro-sprints throughout a marathon.

Institutional Collaboration: The second panel, led by Pablo Rupérez, featured Marta Font, Deputy Director General of Foreign Investments at the Ministry of Economy. In a lively dialogue, the audience agreed on the need to strengthen collaboration between the public sector and private companies, in a context marked by the challenges of economic security and geopolitics shared by both spheres.

2026 Perspectives: Moderated by Valvanera Lecha, the third panel—featuring Pilar Fernández Rubio (M&A Leader at Indra), Alejandro Rumayor (CEO of Belog), Daniel Lorrain (Principal at Hyperion Fund), and Jaime Miaja (Executive Director at Goldman Sachs)—agreed that investment in 2026 will exceed the levels reached last year, which were already near historical records, with the aerospace and defense sectors as major drivers of activity.

The speakers shared an optimistic vision for the end of this year and 2026, with fundamentals pointing to record activity levels and greater specialization in value generation.

We will closely follow how this scenario evolves, convinced that narrative and strategy must always walk hand in hand to ensure success in the operations that transform our market.