BlackRock to sell 7% stake in Naturgy in accelerated sale

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)