Repsol is dismissing part of its LNG interests following financial difficulties

Spain’s Repsol and Criteria Caixa have agreed a 3.8 billion euro ($4.27 billion) sale of a combined 20 percent stake in Gas Natural to U.S. fund Global Insfrastructure Partners (GIP).
Criteria, the industrial holding company that owns Spanish lender Caixabank, and oil group Repsol will sell 10 percent each while retaining stakes of 24 percent and 20 percent respectively.
This sell comes in a quite difficult period for both the companies: Repsol, which is under scrutiny from ratings agencies over its 11.7 billion euros of debt at a time of weak oil prices, said it stands to make a 246 million euro capital gain from the deal.
Criteria and its banking unit, meanwhile, have been under pressure to boost their solvency ratios amid a regulatory crackdown, and both were among the weakest links in Europe-wide stress tests in July.
Criteria said it would make a gain of 218 million euros from its Gas Natural stake sale and that its core capital ratio would be boosted by 1.65 percentage points.
The sale is expected to close by the end of September and the stakes retained by Repsol and Criteria will allow them continue to benefit from Gas Natural’s hefty dividend payouts.