Criteria Caixa, investment arm of La Caixa and Naturgy’s largest shareholder, today publicly expressed its support for the president of the energy group, Francisco Reynés. “Criteria reaffirms 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,” the holding company he chairs, Isidro, said in a brief statement. Fainé.
Criteria’s statement comes one day before the board of directors meeting, in which the appointment of a CEO, or a similar executive figure, will be considered. A function that Reynés has exercised for five years along with that of president. Criteria supports the creation of the new executive position, although it has wanted to make it clear that this does not undermine Reynés’ power in the company.
The idea that is on the table is to name the director of Citi Ignacio Gutiérrez-Orrantia as number two for Reynés and with a distribution of executive functions between the two. Reynés has been the one who has proposed the appointment of Orrantia, a person also well regarded by Fainé.
The incorporation of a CEO has been a repeated request from the shareholder funds to strengthen the financial profile of the management team as a step prior to reviving the Geminis project or another similar one. The Gemini project was announced at the beginning of 2022, shortly before the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, which forced it to be put in a drawer due to the destabilization of the energy and financial markets. In this situation, the Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, openly declared herself against the project, which has contributed to its paralysis.
Gemini plans to segregate regulated assets, safe but less profitable, from liberalized ones, with more risk but with more possibilities of return. In this way, shareholders would be given the option of optimizing their investment by focusing on one or another business.
Naturgy has been insisting in recent months that Gemini is parked, but not forgotten. And now the stabilization of the markets and the expectation of a change of government fuel the chances that it will start up.
Ignacio Gutiérrez-Orrantia would provide precisely the financial profile required to launch a project like Géminis. The large shareholders agree on this, led by Criteria (26.7% of the capital), followed by the GIP (20.6%), CVC (20.7%) and IFM (14%) funds.
Gutiérrez-Orrantia is currently co-head of banking, capital markets and advisory for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Citi. Reynés had been ratified in March as executive president.
