SHORT TAKE-Sabadell's David Martinez steps down from board after failed BBVA bid

MADRID, Nov 27 (Reuters) - David Martinez, the third-largest shareholder at Sabadell SABE.MC, has stepped down from the Spanish lender's board, the bank said on Thursday in a regulatory filing.

CONTEXT

Martinez had said in September that shareholders should accept a hostile takeover offer by larger rival BBVA BBVA.MC, which ultimately failed. The remainder of Sabadell's board had told shareholders to reject the revised offer, which valued the lender at 16.97 billion euros ($19.67 billion), arguing it still undervalued the bank.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
Mexican investor Martinez was the bank's largest individual shareholder and had served on its board for 12 years. He still holds a 3.86% stake in Sabadell and his resignation raises speculation about whether he might divest.

KEY QUOTE

"Enormous attention has been paid to the price of the offer; in my view, this factor is secondary to the strategic benefits of the integration of the entities in the long term," Martinez said at the time, adding that he had abstained from endorsing the board's report as he did not share some of their opinion.

($1 = 0.8626 euros)