The Spanish left-wing government will closely monitor the impact of any financial operation involving the energy group Naturgy, the Minister of Ecological Transition assured on Wednesday, against the backdrop of rumors of an interest from the French TotalEnergies.
“Our responsibility, as a government, in such a turbulent time when natural gas is at the center of difficulties, tensions, is to be attentive to what is happening in the main Spanish gas company,” insisted Teresa Ribera in an interview with AFP.
“The government’s responsibility is to ensure that the company is solvent, reinvests and avoids a yo-yo movement on the stock market,” she added.
When asked about TotalEnergie’s possible interest in the Spanish group, Teresa Ribera acknowledged that “rumors” had “reached (her) ears”, but said she did not want to “comment” on them.
“I honestly believe that at a time like the present, financial operations involving such an important operator for the Spanish gas market must be carried out with great caution,” she stressed.
However, she considered that the “presence of industrial companies in the (capital) of energy companies is interesting because it is a different vision from that of investment funds or companies in the financial sector.
Naturgy has several financial groups in its capital. Under Spanish rules on foreign investment in strategic sectors, the government of socialist Pedro Sanchez had to give the green light last year to the partial takeover bid of the Australian pension fund IFM for the energy group. In exchange, he had asked this fund, which holds a share of more than 13% of Naturgy, to commit to maintaining the activity in Spain, to demonstrate prudent financial management and to invest in the energy transition.
Naturgy, formerly Gas Natural Fenosa, owns 49% of the Medgaz pipeline, which links Spain to Algeria, one of its main gas suppliers.
