The Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) fund, which now controls the world’s largest investment manager black rockannounced this Wednesday that it is putting part of its stake in Naturgy up for sale and will, to this end, launch an accelerated placement of the 7.1% of the company’s share capital. These are 69 million shares valued at around 1.8 billion euros, according to the closing prices of the securities of the day.
Following this divestment, which the fund announced through a communication to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), the fund will pass from controlling 18.5% of the capital to 11.4%while CriteriaCaixa remains at 24%.
The fund instructed JP Morgan “to make reasonable efforts to attract buyers, through a accelerated placement (accelerated bookbuilding offer) intended for qualified investors“, of a maximum of 69 million ordinary shares of the energy company, representing approximately 7.1% of the share capital. The Naturgy share closed this Wednesday at a price of 26.16 euros per share, after recording a fall of 0.23%, which means that at these market prices the value of this package of shares would be approximately 1,805 million euros.
However, these accelerated placements of large packages of shares generally end up closing at a discount. JP Morgan will act as sole global coordinator and the accelerated placement will begin immediately and will be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the placement contract (secondary block trade agreement).
According to the communication to the CNMV, the contract is subject to the usual suspensive conditions in this type of transaction and the seller has undertaken not to transfer the shares (lock up) 90 days from the completion of the accelerated placement, subject to the usual exceptions applicable to this type of transaction. Once the accelerated placement has been completed, JP Morgan will announce, “through privileged communication, the final terms of the accelerated placement, including the sale price”.
Criteria becomes the largest shareholder of Naturgy
With this sale, GIP, which was the second shareholder of Naturgy after Criteria, the holding company of La Caixa, reduces its stake from 18.5% to 11.4%. This movement consolidates Criteria as the main shareholder of Naturgy, with 24%, but it dislodges GIP from this second place, now occupied by CVC/Rioja, with 18.58%, while the Australian fund IFM presents itself as the third shareholder, with 15.17%.
Market sources specified that this operation represents an orderly divestment of one of the shareholders of the energy company who planned it in this way. For some time there has been interest of certain shareholders of Naturgy, in particular the funds, to exit the capital of the company, once they consider having completed their cycle of stay in the capital of the company.
The investment company, bought by BlackRock last year, acquired a stake in Naturgy in 2016, after buying a 20% stake from Repsol and Criteria for around 3,802 million euros, through an agreement in which each of the partners transferred 10% of the capital at a unit price of 19 euros per share.
On the other hand, Naturgy sources indicated that the increase of free floating This is one of the key objectives of the 2025-2027 strategic plan, and that this operation strengthens it. In this regard, in June the group chaired by Francisco Reynés successfully carried out a public purchase offer targeting a maximum of 88 million of its own shares, representing 9.08% of its capital, with a consideration of 26.50 euros per share, which resulted in a total amount of 2,332 million euros.
Criteria, the holding company of La Caixa, GIP, CVC/Rioja and IFM sold 8.7% of the capital of Naturgy as part of the offer. After the takeover offer, the energy company’s own shares amounted to 10 percent. The objective of the offer was to achieve a 15% level free floating this would allow the group to return to the MSCI indices. During several sales of own shares, he noted that free floating at 18.7%, also achieving its goal of returning to these rates in November.
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