MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spanish gas company incorporates local partner in Argentina

Spanish utility Gas Natural announced Monday in Buenos Aires it had agreed to sell 19.6% of its Argentine subsidiary to a local pharmaceutical group Chemo for 56 million US dollars.

Gas Natural said it would keep a controlling stake of 50.4% in Gas Natural BAN under the deal, which is designed to incorporate a local partner into the subsidiary and is subject to due diligence being completed. Gas Natural's subsidiary has 1.4 million customers and supplies gas to 18.4% of the Argentine market, Gas Natural said in its statement. "With this agreement the company has gained an Argentine partner in its Gas Natural BAN affiliate", added the statement. Gas Natural has always sponsored having local partners with "the purpose of a better implementation in all countries where it has businesses". The Chemo Group under Leandro Sigman is described as "a multinationl of Argentina origin with operations in 24 countries in different fields". Gas Natural has agreed to sell up to 4.68 billion US dollars of assets as part of its 16.8 billion Euro takeover bid for rival Spanish utility Union Fenosa.