La Caixa dismisses Àngel Simón as CEO of Criteria and replaces him with Francisco Reynés.

Barcelona / MadridÁngel Simón has stepped down as CEO of CriteriaCaixa one year and four months after his appointment. His replacement at the helm of La Caixa's investment arm will be Naturgy's executive chairman, Francisco Reynés, according to the La Caixa Foundation, which owns 100% of the investment holding company Criteria. The Board of Trustees of La Caixa, which Reynés joined as a patron at the beginning of the month, has also agreed to fill the vacancy left on the board by Simón with the appointment of Reynés as a director of CriteriaCaixa, with the aim that the company's board of directors will name him executive vice president in the coming weeks. Simón, who was the president of Agbar, was appointed CEO of CriteriaCaixa in January 2024 and was then considered one of the most trusted men of the president, with whom he shared his hometown of Manresa. Simón's appointment was interpreted in some banking circles as a successor and different voices suggested that he could be the main candidate to replace Fainé, president of the La Caixa Foundation, due to his control over CriteriaCaixa's subsidiaries and, through this company, over CaixaBank, the delegate had to lead CriteriaCaixa's strategic plan, presented last year. Currently, the portfolio of investments reaches €30 billion. The strategic plan aims to reach 2030 with gross assets of €40 billion and become one of the leading investment holding companies in Europe. Fainé, president of the foundation and of Criteria, has emphasized on several occasions that the holding company's strong results allow the La Caixa Foundation, which is funded by dividends from Criteria's holding companies, to have its largest budget in its history in 2025, at €655 million.

CriteriaCaixa is the leading investment holding company in Spain. Last March, both CriteriaCaixa and its sole shareholder, the La Caixa Foundation, decided to return their headquarters to Catalonia, after having moved to Palma following the referendum of October 1, 2017. The investment holding company of the La Caixa Foundation closed its 2024 target. with a net profit of 1,061 million euros, 30% more than the previous yearIn March, the holding company's board of directors approved the 2024 financial statements and distributed a historic dividend of €430 million to its sole shareholder, the La Caixa Foundation.

Three Legs

The holding company Reynés will manage has three investment pillars: the strategic portfolio, the diversification portfolio, and the real estate portfolio. In December 2024, the asset value of this holding company amounted to €30.363 billion, 14.5% more than the previous year, driven by both net investments of €1.78 billion and the revaluation of existing investments (€1.051 billion). The net asset value at year-end reached €25.075 billion, 13.5% more than the previous year.

Criteria received €1.878 billion in dividends from its holdings, 69% more than the previous year. Strategic holdings include a 31.22% stake in CaixaBank, a 26.71% stake in Naturgy, and a 9.99% stake in Telefónica. In fact, Criteria allocated 1.681 billion euros to increase its stake in the operator. to become the second largest shareholder, behind the State.

In the diversification portfolio, Criteria allocated investments of €1.659 billion, which allowed the entry of the construction company ACS, chaired by Florentino Pérez (it holds a 9.36% stake, after investing €985 million), and €4.0. The diversification portfolio was valued at €5.383 billion at year-end, after a €218 million revaluation.

Regarding the real estate portfolio, Criteria has launched a remodeling process by divesting dispersed and unprofitable assets to focus on assets with more recurring results, such as Colonial, where it has increased its stake to 17.32%. The real estate portfolio was worth €2.086 billion at year-end. In addition, Criteria is promoting a private equity portfolio—valued at €1.035 billion—and one of its latest transactions has been a 20% stake in Europastry. The acquisition of the steel company Celsa has not yet materialized because it generated disagreements between Fainé and Simón, according to various sources. During the year, the holding company plans to invest in one hundred small and medium-sized companies, and €111 million of a €520 million investment commitment has been disbursed.

Extraordinary meeting of Naturgy

Naturgy, at the request of its Chairman and CEO, Francisco Reynés, has called an extraordinary meeting of its board of directors this Tuesday afternoon, following his announced appointment by CriteriaCaixa and to appoint him CEO and Executive Vice President of the La Caixa investment holding company. Reynés intends to inform the other board members and request their authorization to accept the position and continue as Executive Chairman. Sources close to the appointment explain to ARA that it is "not incompatible" to be Chairman and CEO of Naturgy while also assuming this position at CriteriaCaixa.