Energy: It all started in the 90s

One of the first movements was the 1991 merger of Gas Madrid (Repsol) and Catalana de Gas, founded in 1843 and controlled by La Caixa. The company was transformed with its own heads, Pere Duran Farell, Antoni Brufau, salvador gabarro, Isidre Faine Y Francisco ReynesRenamed Naturgy as Gas Natural SDG in 2018 and named it decarbonization. Reynés also devised a plan to split it into two companies, one for regulated business; and another for renewable energies and other unregulated businesses, although the current situation has frozen the project. The big step forward for the company was the acquisition of Unión Fenosa, the third largest electricity company on the market, in 2009, after failed attempts to acquire Endesa (2005-2007) and Iberdrola (2003). However, Naturgy also became the object of desire when Australian fund IFM launched a partial takeover bid last year, but then exploded with market purchases surpassing 13%. La Caixa’s investee, Criteria, remained the main shareholder.

In 1992, the year of the Barcelona Games, another industry leader was born: iberdrola, the fruit of the Iberduero union (1944); and Hidroeléctrica Española (1907), founded by Basque business families. After an unsuccessful merger attempt with Endesa in 2001, Ignacio Sanchez Galan turned to face internationalization -Scottish Power and Iberdrola USA subsidiaries that have made it into a multinational company stand out – and renewable until it reaches a stock market value exceeding the textile giant Inditex. Until 2007, the company was a shareholder of BBVA, and 18 years later, even in court, it attempted control by ACS through Unión Fenosa, of which the construction company was the main shareholder.

Endesa (1944), for its part, began the privatization process in 1988 when Felipe González (PSOE) became Head of Government; and ended with José María Aznar (PP) in 1998. He took over most of the capital city of Viesgo, Fecsa and Sevillana, among others. He also came to control the Hidroeléctrica de Catalunya (Hidruña), formerly owned by Hidroeléctrica Española; He absorbed it through Enher in 1998. Thus, Hidruña and Fecsa, two large Catalan power companies, were integrated into its orbit. After struggle to stop takeover bid for Gas Natural Manuel Pizarro was president and trying to get German EON to take over the company, it all ended with Acciona and Italian Enel taking control. The Italian public group took over 100% and launched in 2014, took a stake in the stock market and held 70.1% of the capital.

to spreadBy the way, he was born in 1997 with this brand. diversified groupis due to the integration of the former builders Cubiertas and MZOV, as well as Entrecanales and Távora. With the landing at the head of the company of the second generation of the family and Jose Manuel Entrecanales Domecq As president, in addition to infrastructure and water, he preferred renewable energies, until he became one of the main players in the industry with his subsidiary, both as a supporter of wind farms and a manufacturer of wind turbines.

Repsol, born in 1987, started to be privatized in 1989, in a process that reached its zenith 8 years later. In 2012, the group surpassed Argentina’s nationalization of YPF, which it bought under the chairmanship of Alfonso Cortina in 1999. In 2004 Antoni Brufau took over and they took a big step forward to compete in electricity today by acquiring the assets of Viesgo (a company acquired by the Portuguese) from the acquisition of Canadian Talisman Energy. EDP in 2020). Sacyr became the first shareholder of the group before the 2008 crisis, when construction companies were swimming in liquidity. In 2018, Repsol ceased its shareholding in Gas Natural, of which it had been a shareholder since 1989, and La Caixa ceased to be Repsol’s reference partner.

Regarding Cepsa (1929), the company agreed to include IPIC from Abu Dhabi as a shareholder in 1988. Elf-Aquitaine, Total or Banco Santander passed through its capital. Following the integration of IPIC and Mubadala, this sovereign wealth fund and Carlyle are the sole shareholders of the company it operates. Maarten Wetselaarresponsible for leading the company’s green transition.