The Australian investment fund IMF announced yesterday that it has raised its stake in Naturgy to 15.010% compared to the 14.5% it had reported until now. The increase in participation occurs almost a week after the purchase of Naturgy’s third shareholder, the GIP fund, by the world’s main fund manager, BlackRock, was made public.
The communication of this increase in position is made just when Naturgy shares have accumulated a drop of 5.30% in their value since January 12, the day on which BlackRock announced the acquisition of GIP, so if it had been carried out at yesterday’s share price, 25.7 euros, the value of the operation would mean about 3,764 million.
“It is not necessary that they have bought just today. They could have been changing their holding above 10% and below 15% since the last communication. Once that 15% is exceeded, they are forced to communicate it,” explain financial sources.
David Neal, CEO of IFM, already announced last October in Madrid that his commitment to Naturgy is “very long-term” and his interest in gaining positions in the gas company chaired by Francisco Reynés, in which he is already the fourth reference shareholder is well known, so it makes perfect sense that after the shareholder noise of the last week they have taken advantage of the fact that the share is at its lowest price so far this year.
