Morgan Stanley increases its stake in Telefónica to 13.5%.

The investment firm retains its 9.96% stake in Saudi STC, with which it has an agreement to hedge against the risks posed by share price fluctuations. Morgan Stanley purchased the shares on November 6, just two days after the presentation of the new 2026-2030 strategic plan by the operator, whose chairman is Marc Murtra. Through financial instruments and shares, Morgan Stanley has increased its stake in Telefónica from 10.756% to 13.503%. Although this percentage makes it the operator's largest shareholder, surpassing the State Holding Company for Industrial Participations (SEPI), which holds 10%, most of these shares are actually those Morgan Stanley sold to Saudi Telecom Company (STC), a company of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund (Public Investment Fund), which owns 9.96% of the capital. Morgan Stanley has entered into an options contract with STC Group to mitigate the risk associated with price fluctuations in its €2.1 billion investment in Telefónica. According to the Arab conglomerate's 2024 annual financial report, the reference price range for these options is between €3.3795 and €4.8064 per share; the expiration dates are distributed from March 5, 2026, to September 5, 2028.