Indra's shares drop as it begins search for new CEO

MADRID (Reuters) -Shares of Spanish technology company Indra fell 6.1% on Tuesday after it announced it would begin a process to appoint a new chief executive (CEO) to replace Ignacio Mataix.

The search for its third CEO in two years was linked to a new strategic plan for the next years, Indra said late on Monday.

Mataix will continue as CEO until the appointment of a successor and after that will serve as a strategic adviser to Indra's board of directors for two years, the company said in a statement.

Indra's shares fell 6.1% to 11.65 euros per share at 0907 GMT, the worst performer on the Spanish blue chip index Ibex 35.

Analysts from Renta 4 said the "negative news" was the latest departure of a main company executive since the dismissal of Fernando Abril-Martorell as executive chairman in May 2021.

Indra suffered a governance crisis in 2022 when eight independent board members were ousted or resigned after shareholders unexpectedly agreed to give the government more control.

State holding company SEPI is Indra's biggest shareholder with a 25.2% stake, according to Refinitiv data.

(Reporting by Joanna Jonczyk-Gwizdala and Emma Pinedo, editing by Charlie Devereux)