Through the Mubadala fund and with a participation that exceeds 3%

Emirates enters the Spanish company Enagás

photo_camera REUTERS/HAMAD I MOHAMMED - General view of the city of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Mubadala, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund and Cepsa's main shareholder, has broken into Enagás' capital with a stake of over 3%, making it the fifth largest shareholder in the Spanish energy group.

The Emirate fund, through the company Mubadala Petroleum & Petrochemicals Holding Company LLC, has indicated that it holds exactly 3.103% of the company's capital, valued at just over 160 million euros. 

Enagás' shares rose on the stock market to 19.7 euros per share as a result of this operation. The Mubadala investment group is fully controlled by the Abu Dhabi government authorities, which appoint the members of the board of directors, and is considered to be one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world. Mubadala is the main shareholder of the Spanish oil company Cepsa, where it has a 61.5% stake, while The Carlyle Group controls the remaining 38.5%. In addition, the sovereign fund is a shareholder in other companies such as the Austrian OMV or the Australian Oil Search, among others.

Amancio Ortega, the founder of Inditex and the richest man in Spain, and the Spanish State, through the Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales (SEPI), are the main shareholders of the gas entity in which the Emirates has entered, with a participation of 5% each. Ortega entered the capital of Enagás in the increase that the company launched at the end of last year for the purchase of Tallgrass by investing more than 250 million euros. For its part, SEPI also took part in this capital increase to maintain its 5% of the company's capital, as recalled by the El Correo del Golfo newspaper. 

By law, in Enagás, the operator of the Spanish gas system and owner of the transport gas networks and national regasification plants, no one can exceed 5% of the share capital. Along with Ortega and SEPI, other noteworthy entities in the shareholding of the group presided over by Antonio Llardén include Bank of America, with 3.61% of the capital, BlackRock, with 3.383%, and Credit Agricole, with 3.042%.

More in Economy and business