Telefónica, S.A. (BME:TEF) will look for M&A. Telefonica will look for acquisitions to expand its newly-formed Tech business, Chief Operating Officer Angel Vila said on May 13, 2021 after the Spanish company published first-quarter results in line with forecasts. Telefonica has been facing growth issues aside from the impact of the pandemic and has been selling assets to cut debt and fund an upgrade to next-generation 5G networks. The company is keen to extract value from IOT (Internet of Things), Big Data, cloud, and cybersecurity services provided by its fast-growing Telefonica Tech business. “We’re looking at acquisitions to complement either the footprint or capability of our IOT Tech unit, and will be carving out further units across our markets . like Brazil,” Vila told Reuters. “In countries like Germany, where we are less strong on B2B (business-to-business), we could analyse potential targets to acquire a strong position across all products”. Telefonica’s sale of its Telxius mobile masts to American Tower should allow the group to shrink net debt by €9 billion next quarter - but around 1 billion will go to future rental contracts, Chief Financial Officer Laura Abasolo said.