Spanish Muddle as GN Rebrands As 'Naturgy' (Update)

See update in final para about GN still trading as Gas Natural, June 28.

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Spain’s Gas Natural (GN) said June 27 said it is “rebranding” as Naturgy, but it was not immediately clear if the company’s new legal name has changed.

“We believe we need an international name, which covers all the energy business, not only gas”, said Francisco Reynes, the company's executive president told its annual shareholder meeting in Madrid the same day.  A statement after that meeting said: ”The company presented its new brand, Naturgy, to its shareholders, as well as its new corporate identity” but stopped short of confirming a legal name change.

The company's legal name remained Gas Natural several years ago, when the company last changed its brand identity to Gas Natural Fenosa.

A spokesperson told NGW: “The official corporate name will be Naturgy Energy Group SA” adding that the legal name change would take effect “today.” The company had said that its new stock ticker in Spain’s top IBEX 35 index will change to ‘NTGY’.  And yet, as as of early evening June 27 (6pm local time in Spain), the legal notice on its website described the company as ‘Gas Natural.’

This comes eight months after the company scrambled to move its legal domicile to Madrid, from Barcelona, the principal city of Catalonia where its headquarters remains (see banner photo, courtesy of GN).

Update: 11.15am GMT, June 28:   GN was continuing to post Madrid stock market announcements under its old Gas Natural name and ticker on June 28 (as evidenced by this link  to its strategy presentation in London).