About

Headquartered in its distinctive Barcelona-based skyscraper, Gas Natural Fenosa presides over a huge multi-national natural gas operation, amounting to a market capitalisation of $20.6bn as of May 2016. Its legal team is excellently led by head of legal services Manuel García Cobaleda, and contains impressive talent from the top to the bottom of its ranks. García is one of the most highly-respected and prominent GCs in Spain and, on the back of his 18-year career with Gas Natural Fenosa, he contributes a wealth of specialist knowledge to the legal team’s arsenal. The team has been active in terms of M&A lately, and in July 2016 announced the closure of a deal for an undisclosed amount to take over 100% of Irish-based Vayu. Vayu supplies gas to around 20% of Ireland’s industrial and commercial market, and this significant acquisition therefore allows significant penetration into a lucrative market for the company. In November 2016, the team also invested in a solar power plant project in Brazil, showing a willingness to diversify in the face of a changing energy market. The legal team has a direct link with board matters owing to García’s dual role as secretary of the board of directors. This allows legal to have an input into business strategies that could have an attached level of risk that is unnecessarily high. As such, they are able to safeguard the company while simultaneously empowering them to achieve their overall corporate strategy.