Naturgy’s board closes ranks with Reynés after pressure from shareholders

2023-07-12 09:38:35

Naturgy’s board of directors, the energy company’s highest executive management body, has wanted to publicly show its support for the group’s current president, Francisco Reynés, after the shareholding entanglements of recent days in which two of the large funds that own the company (CVC and GIP) would have wanted to recover the figure of a ‘number two’ next to the president.

Taking advantage of a relevant fact of the corporation on updating compliance with the strategic plan, “all the members of the board” – indicates the text sent to the CNMV – “their firm commitment to the industrial project” of Naturgy and “their total confidence in the management team. They do so, they point out, »given the various information that has appeared in recent days«, referring to the possibility that Ignacio Gutiérrez-Orrantia could be the new CEO of the firm. In fact, the board »has recognized the high degree of commitment of the entire Naturgy team, which has made a decisive contribution to achieving these results despite a difficult and volatile situation in the energy markets«.

The Basque director Gutiérrez-Orrantia is the main name being considered as a possible CEO of Naturgy to be ‘number two’ for Francisco Reynés. However, that candidate will remain in his current position as head of investment banking at Citi and will not access the position proposed by the energy company, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Naturgy’s board of directors met yesterday to study the possible appointment of this banker who is highly trusted by the president and liked by the funds that had been calling for a reorganization of the company’s leadership for months.

But Citi’s co-head of Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory for Europe, the Middle East and Africa told his colleagues internally that he would continue in his position at the US bank, according to financial sources. In this role in which he works from London he is responsible for over 2,000 people from 50 countries.

The position of CEO had disappeared from Naturgy after the appointment of Reynés as president with full powers in February 2018 and now the stable core of shareholders proposed the reestablishment of this figure. Naturgy is one of the few Ibex companies that does not apply the Anglo-Saxon model of keeping management functions separate.

Naturgy’s largest shareholder is Fundación La Caixa through Criteria Caixa, which owns 26.7% of its capital. It is followed by the CVC Capital Partners funds, with 20.41%; Global Infrastructure Management (GIP), with 20%; IFM Global Infrastructure Fund with 14% and, at a great distance, the Algerian Sonatrach with 3.85%.

To settle any doubts in this regard, Criteria, Naturgy’s largest shareholder, ratified this Monday “its confidence in the company’s management team headed by its president, Francisco Reynés, and will support his proposals aimed at being able to face the important challenges of the company in the coming years”, as indicated in a brief statement with which they gave room for the appointment of the new CEO of the energy company.