A2 · ElementaryAdapted from Expansión

Spain's Cosmen family bids to take Mobico private

Una oferta para comprar Mobico

Oct 22, 20261 min readGraded Spanish · word-by-word audio

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La familia Cosmen y el fondo Asterion quieren comprar toda la empresa británica Mobico. Ya tienen el 26% de las acciones. Ahora ofrecen 46 peniques por cada acción. Esto es un 55% más que el precio de ayer.

Mobico es la empresa matriz de Alsa, una compañía española de autobuses. La familia Cosmen es mayoritaria en la operación. La oferta es una aproximación, no es firme todavía. Tienen hasta el 18 de noviembre para lanzar una oferta en firme.

Mobico tiene problemas financieros. Su deuda es muy alta: 1.134 millones de libras. Por eso, los Cosmen quieren excluir la empresa de la Bolsa de Londres. Si la operación funciona, los Cosmen recuperan el control de Alsa después de 21 años.

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Watch out, English speaker

Spanish 'querer + infinitive' works much like English 'want to + verb,' but beware: unlike English, Spanish never inserts a preposition between the forms. English speakers might instinctively say quieren a comprar by analogy with 'want to buy,' but that's wrong—just use the bare infinitive. Also, 'querer' is stem-changing (e→ie): 'quieren,' not queren. Spanish 'acción' can mean both 'share' (stock) and 'action,' just like English 'share' can mean a portion or a stock unit. But don't assume 'acción' always means 'action' in a business context—here it's 'shares.' English learners might also confuse 'acción' with 'accionista' (shareholder), so watch the ending. Spanish 'oferta' covers both 'offer' and 'bid' in business contexts, similar to English 'offer,' but it can also mean 'sale' (as in 'ofertas' at a store). English speakers might translate 'oferta' as 'offer' in every case, but in this article it's a takeover bid—context matters. Also, 'oferta' is feminine, so use 'la oferta,' not el oferta. Spanish 'empresa' means 'company' or 'firm,' but it can also mean 'enterprise' or 'undertaking.' English speakers might think of 'empresa' as only 'enterprise,' but in business news it's simply 'company.' Don't confuse it with 'empresario' (businessperson). Spanish 'deuda' means 'debt,' but English speakers might expect a verb form like 'debt' (which is both noun and verb in English). In Spanish, 'deuda' is only a noun; the verb is 'deber' (to owe). Also, 'deuda' is feminine: 'la deuda,' not el deuda. Spanish 'excluir' means 'to exclude' but in stock-market context it means 'to delist' (remove from the stock exchange). English speakers might translate it literally as 'exclude' and miss the financial meaning. Also, 'excluir' is irregular in some tenses (e.g., 'excluyo' for 'I exclude'), so don't regularize it. Spanish 'recuperar' means 'to recover' or 'to regain,' but English speakers might use 'recover' reflexively ('recover oneself') incorrectly. In Spanish, 'recuperar' is often used transitively: 'recuperar el control' (regain control), not recuperarse el control. Also, 'recuperar' can mean 'to catch up' in some contexts, but here it's 'regain.'

Key vocabulary

comprarv.
to buy
“Quieren comprar toda la empresa.”— They want to buy the whole company.
Pattern comprar acciones — buy shares
Compare adquirir — acquire
yo compro, tú compras, él compra
💡 Basic verb, commonly used in everyday shopping and business acquisitions
acciónf.
share (stock); action
“Ya tienen el 26% de las acciones.”— They already have 26% of the shares.
Pattern vender acciones — sell shares
Compare título — security
plural acciones
💡 In financial contexts it often means "share/stock"; note the distinction from "action"
ofertaf.
offer; bid
“La oferta es una aproximación.”— The offer is an approach.
Pattern oferta en firme — firm offer
Compare propuesta — proposal
plural ofertas
💡 In business it often means "takeover bid/offer"; in everyday use it also means "promotion/sale"
empresaf.
company
“Mobico es la empresa matriz de Alsa.”— Mobico is the parent company of Alsa.
Pattern empresa matriz — parent company
Compare compañía — company
plural empresas
💡 Common business term; note the collocation "empresa matriz"
deudaf.
debt
“Su deuda es muy alta.”— Its debt is very high.
Pattern pagar la deuda — pay off the debt
Compare pasivo — liabilities
plural deudas
💡 From Latin debitum, related to "deber" (ought to)
excluirv.
to exclude; to delist
“Quieren excluir la empresa de la Bolsa.”— They want to delist the company from the Stock Exchange.
Pattern excluir de la Bolsa — delist from the stock exchange
Compare sacar — remove
yo excluyo, tú excluyes
💡 In financial contexts it often means "delist"; note the irregular conjugation
recuperarv.
to recover; to regain
“Los Cosmen recuperan el control de Alsa.”— The Cosmen family regain control of Alsa.
Pattern recuperar el control — regain control
Compare recobrar — recover
yo recupero, tú recuperas
💡 The prefix re- means "again"; the root is related to "obtaining"

Grammar spotlight

querer + infinitive

This structure means 'to want to do something.' The verb querer is directly followed by an infinitive. It is a common way to express desires or intentions.

“Quieren comprar toda la empresa.”— They want to buy the entire company.

⚠️ Do not write 'quieren compran'; the verb after querer must be in the infinitive.

Sentence patterns to steal

Ya tienen el 26% de las acciones.
They already hold 26% of the shares.
Ya + verb + percentage + de + nounYou can replace the percentage and the noun, e.g., 'Ya tienen el 50% del capital'.
Si la operación funciona, los Cosmen recuperan el control de Alsa.
If the deal works, the Cosmen family regains control of Alsa.
Si + condition (present tense), main clause (present tense)You can replace the condition and the main clause, e.g., 'Si llueve, no salimos'.

Alsa and the Cosmen Family

Alsa is a well-known Spanish long-distance bus company headquartered in Asturias. In 2005, the Cosmen family merged Alsa into the British National Express Group, which later rebranded as Mobico. Now the Cosmen family is trying to regain control, reflecting the active role of Spanish companies in international transportation.

Source: Wikipedia/Alsa official website

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