Molins shareholders seek an agreement; Wallbox: from speculation to rescue

The shareholders of the Catalan cement company Molins are busy seeking an agreement between the families before their meeting, scheduled for the 27th. The differences center on the renewal of three directorships and the possible election of a new non-executive chairman to replace the current one, Joan Molins Amat. He is a member of one of the three family branches that share the capital, in this case the Molins Amat family, who hold around 33%. The other two branches are the Molins López Rodó family, with around 34%, and finally the Molins Gil family, with 26%.

Joan Molins, 83, has been the company's veteran president since 2017, although he previously served as CEO for more than three decades. Marcos Cela, who has been in office for exactly one year, is the current CEO.

Historically, changes in the company have been agreed upon between these three families, whose shares are syndicated in a pact that expires next December. All three families participate in this agreement, with the exception of a portion of the Molins Amat family, who withdrew in protest at the decision to relocate the company's headquarters to Madrid, adopted by the board in October 2017 following the independence referendum crisis. The remaining 10% of the shares are divided between 5% traded on the "parqué" (stock market) of the Barcelona Stock Exchange and another 5% held in treasury stock.

In view of the upcoming renewal, the López Rodo and Gil families intend to propose the replacement of Joan Molins with Julio Rodríguez, who was the cement company's CEO for nine years until Cela's election, as reported by El Periódico. To this end, they propose that Rodríguez join the board at the next meeting on the 27th. Furthermore, they propose that the other two representatives be Beatriz Molins Domingo, representing the López Rodó branch, and Joan Molins himself, who is seeking reappointment as chairman. The Molins Amat family, for their part, defend the continuation of Joan Molins, although they accept that the succession be carried out in an orderly manner and within a limited timeframe. They also question the appointment of Rodríguez as both director and chairman, given that he was the predecessor of the current CEO, which could seem like excessive supervision.

Furthermore, they argue, the agreement would make it possible to maintain and expand the unionization agreement, since after the headquarters return to Barcelona, ​​all the Molins Amat workers would also join.

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Extreme speculation often has ruinous consequences. Wallbox, the Catalan manufacturer of electric vehicle chargers, is a good example of the short-lived euphoria of financial bubbles. Less than four years ago, in October 2021, the company founded by Enric Asunción and Eduard Castañeda debuted on the New York Stock Exchange and on its first day reached a valuation of almost €1.3 billion: a unicorn, as startups with a capitalization of €1 billion are known in tech finance jargon. Something that only Glovo and Cabify had previously achieved in Spain. A dream for its two founders and their partners, Iberdrola and a pair of capital funds. It used a glittering special vehicle, a SPAC, to quickly list and pass few controls.

Its business plan promised profits this year, 2025, and a turnover exceeding 1.2 billion euros. However, last year that figure was a tenth of what was projected in the rosy days of the stock market launch. As a result, its share value has plummeted 94% since its IPO.

Two weeks ago, the State came to its aid by providing eight million through the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT), using European funds. This was a vital injection for the survival of the company, which has continued to delay reaching profitability. The State is always a valued resource when the free market isn't working, although it's never remembered when things are going well.