La Caixa accelerates its commitment to industry

BarcelonaThere was a time when banks had powerful industrial portfolios. An example was Banesto, when Mario Conde was its chairman, which was swallowed up by Santander; or BBVA itself, which had been one of the key shareholders of Telefónica and Gamesa (now part of the Siemens group). When it was a savings bank, La Caixa was—and still is in some cases—the key partner in companies such as Gas Natural (now Naturgy), Agbar, Abertis, and Repsol, and it maintained this vocation, which was frowned upon by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Spain.

These portfolios of business holdings, however, gradually disappeared with the outbreak of the 2008 financial crisis. The Caja de Pensiones (Cash Bank), which became a foundation under which the investment company Criteria is based, gained prominence. Now, Criteria finances its social work with the dividends of its participating companies and today it is the main business holding company in Spain, with a value exceeding 30 billion euros and aiming to reach 40 billion euros by 2030.

These days it has accelerated its plans Europastry, the leading manufacturer of frozen doughs for Gallés family bakeries, with 20% – a company that has failed at least four times in its IPO, the last one in October, the day before the premiere–. Also with the agreement to carry out a similar operation to the Catalan steel company Celsa, which was owned by the Rubiralta family and passed into the hands of the funds that were the creditors.

Both transactions are included in Criteria's 2025-2030 strategic plan. One of the pillars is comprised of unlisted companies, to which it will allocate €4 billion, half in direct investments (Celsa and Europastry) and the other 50% in indirect investments, as it did with the technology fund of former Telefónica executive Javier Santiso. It also closed transactions with a fund from the Bonomi family (Investindustrial) and another from KKR. One of the major developments is that the entity, which until recently focused on investing in utilities (water, electricity, gas, telecommunications) is expanding its reach into local industries, Criteria sources admit.

With the addition of Ángel Simón, the former president of Agbar and vice president of Veolia, as CEO, Criteria has stepped up its game. In the presentation of its strategic plan for 2025 to 2030, the company was defined as "a stabilizing element of the economy through the protection of strategic sectors and the promotion of industry."

The first point was consolidated with the alliance with the government of Pedro Sánchez, now a key shareholder in Telefónica, where Criteria already controls 9.9% of the capital to offset the entry of the Saudi operator STC. Furthermore, they also coincide in the capital of CaixaBank, where the State holds 16.117%, following the absorption of Bankia in 2020.

New investments

The second aspect, the entry into industries to strengthen them and boost their growth, is being built with operations such as Europastry and Celsa, to which it will allocate between 600 and 700 million euros together, according to various sources. In this portfolio The Belgian group Interparking will also join the group., of which it will now hold more than 18% once Saba is incorporated. The goal is to invest in companies "with a growth program," that are "industrial," and with "social and innovative values," according to Simon. The current objective is to make more selective investments, with greater weight and participation in management. And all this after decide to return the headquarters of Criteria and the La Caixa Foundation in Barcelona, ​​​​almost 8 years after having moved it to Palma de Mallorca. However, it has no plans with CaixaBank, which remains in Valencia.

Another piece of this investment strategy in unlisted companies is Aigües de Barcelona, ​​​​where its partners are the Agbar group, owned by the French Veolia, and the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB). Having verified that the French group has no intention of divesting itself of Agbar, from which La Caixa completely exited in 2014, Criteria has opted to become a shareholder in Veolia with 5% of the capitalA similar transaction to the one he sold Agbar to Suez, taking a 5.9% stake in that multinational. In 2022, he sold this stake to Veolia, which is in the process of merging with Suez, for 750 million euros. Now, for around 1 billion euros, he is once again a shareholder in a larger multinational and has representation on the board of directors.