The ratings on Gas Natural reflect Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' view of the group's strong position as Spain's incumbent gas utility, as well as the offsetting impact of the recent debt-financed acquisition of Union Fenosa, Spain's No. 3 electricity company. We believe that the combined group will benefit from its positions in gas and electricity in Spain and, in particular, from the complementary nature of the upstream gas procurement business with the fleet of gas-fired generation stations in and outside Spain. The enlarged group now has over 20 million customers and 17 gigawatts (GW) of electricity generation capacity across the globe, providing diversification. However, these strengths are offset at the current rating level by the high debt incurred to
