Batten Down the Hatches.THE SPANIARDS WANT TO DOMINATE TELECOMMUNICAtions, banking and energy in Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. . And as the Spanish Acquisition enters its final adventure, the battleground is set: Brazil and Mexico. Telefonica Banco Santander Central Hispano, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Endesa and Repsol YPF Repsol YPF, S.A., (IBEX-35:REP) is an integrated Spanish oil and gas company with operations in 29 countries, the bulk of its assets are located in Spain and Argentina. The product of a 1999 takeover of Argentine energy firm YPF by the Spanish conglomerate Repsol S.A. coughed up top dollar for state-run companies with monopolies or limited competition. Now, as privatization privatization: see nationalization. privatization Transfer of government services or assets to the private sector. State-owned assets may be sold to private owners, or statutory restrictions on competition between privately and publicly owned draws to a close and deregulation Deregulation The reduction or elimination of government power in a particular industry, usually enacted to create more competition within the industry. Notes: Traditional areas that have been deregulated are the telephone and airline industries. is de rigueur, the region's once protected Spanish subsidiaries are seeking market-share fortresses to fend off international insurgents Insurgents, in U.S. history, the Republican Senators and Representatives who in 1909–10 rose against the Republican standpatters controlling Congress, to oppose the Payne-Aldrich tariff and the dictatorial power of House speaker Joseph G. Cannon. . Their weakest defenses lay in the biggest markets, hence the urgency to acquire and consolidate control of companies in Brazil and Mexico. If this final push succeeds, the Spanish companies will hold pan-regional power in Latin America. But they'll also have to he careful. Mergers and acquisitions involving tens of billions of dollars are hard to contain. If you are already talking about all of Latin America, why not go for all of the Americas or maybe even all of Europe? The Spaniards will do well to heed the old saying about pioneers: they usually end up with arrows in their backs. Mike Zellner |
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