Goldman Sachs Co-Leads BlackRock Sale of 11.4% Naturgy Stake

BlackRock has appointed J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs to sell its remaining 11.4% stake in Spanish energy firm Naturgy through an accelerated bookbuild offering, a market filing showed on Monday." The filing in Madrid signaled an immediate disposal process that will reshape Naturgy’s shareholder register and raise liquidity in the stock.

The seller traces back to BlackRock’s 2024 takeover of Global Infrastructure Partners, which made BlackRock the indirect owner of the GIP fund stake in Naturgy. The March placement follows a December 2025 divestment in which BlackRock sold roughly 7% of Naturgy for about $2 billion, reducing its earlier exposure before the accelerated bookbuild was launched.

Market allocations after the filing indicated the 11.4% block was placed at about €25.20 a share, valuing the transaction near €2.79 billion and implying a roughly 5.8% discount to the previous close. A separate mark-to-market calculation based on that Monday’s closing price put the stake closer to €2.96 billion, underscoring how headline valuations differ depending on executed price versus closing-market levels.

One reported allocation identified CriteriaCaixa as a buyer of a 2.5% parcel for roughly €611 million, lifting CriteriaCaixa’s stake to about 28.5% of Naturgy. Market notes also show other large holders in the registry as IFM Investors at roughly 15.5%, CVC Capital Partners at about 13.8%, and Corporación Financiera Alba around 5%, leaving BlackRock moved down the list after the placement if those allocations hold.

The placement was executed via an accelerated bookbuild with Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan running the book, a mandate the filing confirmed and that highlights bank roles in major European asset disposals. The transaction reduces BlackRock’s footprint in a major Spanish utility and, by increasing free float, is likely to alter trading liquidity and index eligibility for Naturgy shares.

Questions remain on the precise legal identity of the selling vehicle - the GIP fund now owned by BlackRock or BlackRock directly - and on the full allocation list for the remaining ~8.9% of the placement beyond the CriteriaCaixa slice. If the reported pricing and allocations are final, the deal completes a near-term unwind of the GIP-linked holding and reshuffles governance dynamics at Naturgy even as energy-sector volatility persists.