www.INFOCIF.ES

                                                                   

www.infocif.es

InfoCIF operates on a “freemium” model. Basic company searches and access to limited public data (like company name and registration number) are free. However, to access the detailed financial reports, director information, shareholder structures, and other in-depth data crucial for our work, a fee is required. This is typically done by purchasing individual reports or through a subscription plan for frequent users. The cost for a single, comprehensive “Financial Report” is a key investment for any serious investigation

The COCOO CaseLink Doctrine: Standard Model for InfoCIF

Strategic Imperative

InfoCIF is a primary intelligence tool for any investigation involving Spanish entities. Its value lies in providing granular detail that supplements our broader international tools. While OpenCorporates can identify a Spanish company’s existence, InfoCIF provides the detailed financial health, director linkages, and shareholder information necessary to qualify it as a target or understand its role in a larger market dynamic.

This platform is indispensable for:

  • Ground-Truthing “Stealth Consolid”: When we suspect a series of small acquisitions are linked, InfoCIF can provide the financial statements to assess the acquirer’s capacity and the director information to prove hidden connections1.
  • MATOIPO Analysis: For any merger or acquisition involving a Spanish entity, InfoCIF is our source for the detailed due diligence required to uncover risks or challenge the transaction’s premises22.
  • Identifying “Simple Indicators”: InfoCIF reports are rich with financial ratios and corporate data that serve as “Simple Indicators” of a company’s health, distress, or aggressive market posture3.

Part I: The Search Platform’s Rules (InfoCIF)

Mastery of the tool requires understanding its specific search architecture. InfoCIF’s power comes from its numerous, highly specific search fields.

  • Primary Search Identifiers: You can search by:

    • Nombre de empresa (Company Name): For searching a known entity.
    • CIF (Código de Identificación Fiscal): The unique tax identification number for a Spanish company. This is the most precise way to search, eliminating all ambiguity.
    • Nombre o NIF de directivo o administrador (Name or Tax ID of a director): This is a critical function for mapping networks.

  • Advanced Search Filters (Búsqueda Avanzada): The advanced search page is where we can execute highly targeted intelligence gathering. Key filters include:

    • Ubicación (Location): Filter by Province and Locality within Spain.
    • Actividad (Activity): Search by CNAE codes (the Spanish equivalent of SIC codes) or by activity keywords. This is essential for sector-wide analysis.
    • Datos Económicos (Economic Data): Filter companies by their sales volume (Ventas), number of employees (Número de empleados), or financial ratios. This allows us to isolate companies of a certain size or financial profile.
    • Forma Jurídica (Legal Form): Filter by entity type (e.g., S.L. – Limited Liability Company, S.A. – Public Limited Company).
    • Estado (Status): Filter for active (Activa) or inactive companies.
    • Cargos Directivos (Executive Positions): Search for companies where a specific person holds a directorship.

Part II: The COCOO Strategic Search Model for InfoCIF

This protocol ensures we extract maximum strategic value from InfoCIF in any given case.

Phase 1: Precision Targeting

  • Step 1.1: Use the CIF: Whenever possible, initiate searches using the company’s CIF, obtained from other documents or initial searches. This guarantees a precise match.
  • Step 1.2: Sectoral Sweep: To understand a specific market segment, use the “Advanced Search” to filter by the relevant CNAE code and the specific Province of interest. This produces a comprehensive list of all direct competitors in a defined geographic and industrial market, directly supporting our “Benchmarking” and “Competitor Analysis” strategies4.

Phase 2: The Network and Influence Protocol

  • Step 2.1: Director Search: The most powerful function for our purposes is the ability to search by a director’s name (Nombre de directivo). When analyzing a key company, identify all its directors from the InfoCIF report.
  • Step 2.2: Reverse-Engineer the Network: Systematically search the name of each of those directors to generate a list of all other Spanish companies where they currently hold or have held a position. This is a primary method for uncovering undeclared related-party transactions and mapping the true influence network of key individuals.

Phase 3: Financial & Distress Signal Analysis

  • Step 3.1: Acquire the Financial Report: For any high-priority target, purchase the full “Informe Financiero”.
  • Step 3.2: Look for Red Flags: Scrutinize the financial statements for “Simple Indicators” 5 of distress or unusual activity:
    • Rapidly increasing debt levels.
    • Plummeting profit margins.
    • Significant changes in shareholder structure.
    • Mentions of legal disputes or contingencies in the notes to the financial statements.
  • Step 3.3: Benchmark Against Peers: Compare the target company’s key financial ratios (e.g., liquidity, debt-to-equity) against the sectoral averages provided by InfoCIF or against the data from the list of competitors generated in Step 1.2. A significant negative deviation is a powerful indicator of weakness that can be exploited.

Part III: Application to COCOO Doctrines (Mind Map Integration)

This model is not for general research; it is a weapon to execute our specific strategic plays.

Mind Map Doctrine Application of the InfoCIF Model
Stealth Consolid & MATOIPO Use the Director Search (Step 2.2) to identify a common director across multiple acquiring companies in the same CNAE sector. This provides strong circumstantial evidence of a coordinated acquisition strategy that regulators may have missed666.
Noisefilter & Simple Indicators The Financial & Distress Signal Analysis (Phase 3) is our primary “Noisefilter”7. A company showing poor financial health via its InfoCIF report is a prime target for a challenge, as it may lack the resources to fight a sustained legal battle.
FOC DAM (Find Other Claimants) If a company is found to be engaged in harmful practices, using the Director Search to find sister companies controlled by the same management team allows us to immediately search for other groups of victims, expanding the scope of the case8.
Benchmarking / Porter The Sectoral Sweep (Step 1.2) provides the raw data needed to conduct a rigorous analysis of market structure, identifying the key players and their relative financial strengths as a precursor to any market intervention9.
Uncovering Undisclosed Mergers As identified in the research, many mergers are not publicly announced10. A sharp, unexplained increase in a company’s assets or a sudden disappearance of a competitor from the “active” list in a sectoral search on InfoCIF can be an indicator of an unannounced acquisition that requires further investigation.

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