Dec 10 (Reuters) – BlackRock plans to sell around 69 million shares in Spanish gas utility Naturgy, equivalent to 7.1% of the company, in an accelerated bookbuild placement managed by JP Morgan, the firm said on Wednesday.
The transaction, targeting qualified investors, will start immediately under a block trade agreement, with final terms, including the sale price, to be announced after completion.
At current market levels, the stake is worth roughly 1.8 billion euros ($2.1 billion).
BlackRock entered Naturgy’s capital through its 2024 acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), which had previously invested in the utility.
The sale will reduce BlackRock’s holding to around 12%, making it the fourth-largest shareholder, and lift the free float above 25%.
After selling the stake, BlackRock will become the company’s fourth-largest shareholder.
The transaction follows a period of strong performance for Naturgy, which has reported record earnings of around 2 billion euros annually over the past two years.
The company has benefited from increased output from its combined-cycle plants, which have operated more hours since an April 28 grid outage, enhancing supply security and helping avoid widespread disconnections.
($1 = 0.8578 euros)
(Reporting by Jesus Calero; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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