Biogas has role in switch to greener future, Naturgy chief says MADRID, July 10 (Reuters) - Gas produced from organic waste is important to Europe's transition to a low-carbon economy and could help ensure companies don't leave the region, the executive chairman of Spanish energy company Naturgy NTGY.MC said on Wednesday. "We need to find solutions to decarbonise that do not lead to relocations," Francisco Reynes told an event in Madrid.

Spain's competition watchdog probes Endesa for potential anti-competitive practices MADRID, July 10 (Reuters) - The Spanish competition watchdog is investigating energy firm Endesa ELE.MC for potential abuse of its dominant position in the electricity distribution market, the CNMC said on Wednesday. The CNMC competition authority said it has received several complaints against the company claiming that it discriminated against competitors by favouring its own subsidiaries in situations including

BUZZ-Top of the Street: Kingfisher, Naturgy, paper & packaging firms A round-up of notable broker activity this morning from Europe's top-ranked* analysts: ** RBC raises Naturgy NTGY.MC to "sector perform" from "underperform" following a stock price correction after TAQA and Criteria dropped a plan to jointly bid for the Spanish utility ** Deutsche Bank raises British home improvement retailer Kingfisher KGF.L to "buy" from "hold", citing "robust" income growth, increased consumer confidence, po

Spanish stocks - Factors to watch on July 9 July 9 (Reuters) - The following Spanish stocks may be affected by newspaper reports and other factors on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy: REPSOL REP.MC Repsol and Eni ENI.MI have made a significant oil and gas discovery in the Sureste Basin, about 63 kilometres off the coast of Mexico, the Italian energy group said on Monday.

BRIEF-Naturgy Signs Renewable Gas Supply Agreement With Grupo Lecta July 8 (Reuters) - Naturgy Energy Group SA NTGY.MC : SIGNS WITH GRUPO LECTA A RENEWABLE GAS SUPPLY AGREEMENT AGREEMENT WILL FACILITATE EFFICIENT DECARBONISATION OF INDUSTRIAL GROUP'S ACTIVITY Further company coverage: NTGY.MC (Gdansk Newsroom)

Spain's Criteria raises stake in Telefonica to 9.99% MADRID, June 28 (Reuters) - Spanish holding company Criteria said on Friday it raised its stake in telecom giant Telefonica TEF.MC to 9.99%, almost matching the stake the Spanish government recently bought in the company. Criteria bought 4.91% of Telefonica shares, the company said on Friday, and intends to buy a further 0.2% so that its stake will surpass the 10% held by the government, making it the telecom group's largest shareholder.

UPDATE 1-Spain hikes nuclear waste levy by 30% Adds details, context throughout MADRID, June 25 (Reuters) - The Spanish government said on Tuesday it would raise the levy nuclear power plant operators pay to fund the dismantling of plants and nuclear waste management by roughly 30% due to rising storage and disposal costs foreseen in its latest estimates .

Spain's watchdog probes Naturgy for anti-competitive practices MADRID, June 19 (Reuters) - Spain's Naturgy NTGY.MC has been placed under investigation regarding possible anti-competitive practices in the country's electricity distribution market, watchdog CNMC said on Wednesday. The CNMC raided two Naturgy offices as part of the investigation, it said in a statement.

BRIEF-Spain's CNMC Investigates Naturgy's Electricity Distributor For Possible Anti-Competitive Practices June 19 (Reuters) - CNMC: INVESTIGATES ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTOR OF NATURGY GROUP (UFD) AND ITS PARENT COMPANIES FOR POSSIBLE ANTI-COMPETITIVE PRACTICES COMPANY WOULD HAVE PRIORITISED INCIDENTS AND COMPLAINTS SUBMITTED BY CERTAIN RETAILERS BETWEE

UPDATE 1-Spain's Criteria to increase its portfolio by 13 billion euros by 2030 Adds quote, background, debt and investment details from paragraph 5 on By Joan Faus BARCELONA, June 17 (Reuters) - Spain's Criteria, the investment arm of the La Caixa foundation, plans to boost the value of its portfolio by 13 billion euros ($13.92 billion) by 2030 as part of a five-year plan that also aims to cut its weighting towards nationally strategic sectors like banking, energy and telecoms.

UPDATE 1-Criteria will seek as soon as possible new partner for Naturgy takeover bid -source Adds background, details By Joan Faus BARCELONA, June 17 (Reuters) - Spanish holding firm Criteria will seek a new partner for a potential takeover bid for utility Naturgy NTGY.MC as soon as possible after it recently failed to reach an agreement with Abu Dhabi's TAQA TAQA.AD , a Criteria source said on Monday.

Criteria will seek as soon as possible new partner for Naturgy takeover bid - source BARCELONA, June 17 (Reuters) - Spanish holding firm Criteria will seek a new partner for a potential takeover bid for Spanish gas firm Naturgy NTGY.MC as soon as possible after it recently failed to reach an agreement with Abu Dhabi's TAQA Asked if it had to be an industrial partner from the energy sector, the source said Criteria - which owns a 26.7% stake in Naturgy - was open to any type of shareholder that b

BREAKINGVIEWS-Spain’s $24 bln investment giant has too many hats The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. By Yawen Chen LONDON, June 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - One of the biggest players in Spanish M&A right now is also one of the most unusual. Criteria Caixa, the 22 billion euro ($24 billion) investment arm of the La Caixa charitable foundation, has been snapping up stakes in listed companies while also making its presence felt at local blue chips

Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions June 11 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 1945 GMT on Tuesday: ** KKR & Co KKR.N has agreed to buy a "significant" minority stake in Quick Quack Car Wash, the investment firm told Reuters and sources familiar with the deal said KKR would pay $850 million. nL1N3I90NJ ** Italian energy company Eni ENI.MI said it had launched an accelerated bookbuilding procedure to sell 10% of the share capital of oilfield

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf bourses end mixed ahead of US Fed meet; Egypt rises By Md Manzer Hussain June 11 (Reuters) - Stock markets in the Gulf put in a mixed performance on Tuesday as investors turned cautious ahead of a key U.S. inflation reading and the Federal Reserve's policy decision due this week. Markets now await Wednesday's U.S. consumer price index data for May and the Fed's interest rate decision.

LIVE MARKETS-UK M&A: plenty more where that came from! STOXX 600 down 0.2% Eyes on Fed this week Miners top fallers Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com UK M&A: PLENTY MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM! Market watchers are noticing an increase in UK M&A activity, particularly among smaller names.

UPDATE 2-European shares end lower as French political tremors rattle banks For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window Naturgy falls after Criteria drops takeover plan with TAQA French stocks extend declines amid political jitters STOXX 600 down 0.9% Updated at 1550 GMT By Shristi Achar A and Shashwat Chauhan June 11 (Reuters) - European shares closed lower on Tuesday, with banks across the continent falling as investors fretted ove

LIVE MARKETS-STOXX: calm returns after French selloff STOXX 600 down 0.1% Eyes on Fed this week Miners top fallers Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com STOXX: CALM RETURNS AFTER FRENCH SELLOFF European equities got off to a steady start on Tuesday, as calm returned to markets following Monday's risk-off moves on the back of French political tremors.

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets mixed in early trade; Fed meet in focus By Md Manzer Hussain June 11 (Reuters) - Stock markets in the Gulf were mixed in early trading on Tuesday, as investors awaited a key U.S. inflation reading and the Federal Reserve's policy decision this week. Dubai's benchmark stock index .DFMGI bounced back from the previous session of losses and rose 1%, with most sectors in the positive territory.

Naturgy shares fall 12% after Criteria drops takeover plan June 11 (Reuters) - Naturgy NTGY.MC shares fell around 12% on Tuesday after holding firm Criteria said it had not reached an agreement with Abu Dhabi's TAQA TAQA.AD over a potential joint takeover bid for the Spanish gas firm. The stock was at the bottom of the region-wide European STOXX 600 benchmark .STOXX .