José María Castellano acquires 5,18% stake in Greenalia

• The renewable energy production company has strengthened its team of directors by incorporating the economist from A Coruña into its Board of Directors
• Greenalia has taken another step in its journey to become a benchmark company in the production of renewable energy and a leader in floating offshore wind energy

Greenalia, a renewable energy production company based in A Coruña, has strengthened its team of executives by incorporating José María Castellano into its Board of Directors. He acquired 5,18% of the company for 12,4 million euros through his investment vehicle, Nakadama S.L., after signing an agreement with the company’s president and CEO, Manuel García, who will keep 85% of capital through the company Smarttia Spain, S.L.U. This transaction sets the company’s total value at 240 million euros, which corresponds to a share price of €11.30, slightly lower than the maximum price achieved last December.

This new addition will provide Greenalia with key support from someone with a wealth of experience in management and finance having worked with numerous large corporations and will strengthen the company’s strategy and position. The incorporation of a new partner and member of the Board of Directors has taken place during a particularly important period for the company, with its serious and firm commitment to new future energy sectors, particularly floating offshore wind energy. This form of energy is predicted to be one of the major worldwide sources of renewable energy in the future, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, with the renewable energy sector forming a key part of the economic recovery in Europe.

In the words of Manuel García, the company’s CEO, “we’re very proud to welcome someone as renowned as José María Castellano into the Greenalia team then Inditex. He has a wealth of experience and expertise and has played a key role in Galicia, in strategic sectors like the textile industry, in his time at Inditex, and in the Galician banking sector, where he led the transition after the merger of two old Galician banks into Nova Galicia Banco, today known as ABANCA. Given his many years of experience as a leader who was able to consolidate the foundations of Inditex, which is currently still the most important multinational company in Spain and a world leader in the textile industry, I have no doubt that he will become an integral part in helping Greenalia take on its next challenges, so we can continue turning Galicia into an international benchmark, occupying the space left by other energy companies in our autonomous community”.

As such, the addition of José María Castellano will be key to helping turn Greenalia and Galicia into a leader in the development of floating offshore wind energy: “we have the opportunity to become one of the leading companies in the energy transition, but more importantly, Galicia has the opportunity to become an international benchmark in the floating offshore wind energy sector, as it is currently in the textile industry. We have all the potential and talent we need to achieve this. Now we need to take advantage of the opportunity that is being provided to us through this recent push towards renewable energies, particularly by the EU, in combination with Galicia’s wealth of experience and expertise in the wind energy and marine sectors. Combining these two advantages together will enable us to turn our industry into an international leader in this essential and burgeoning market”.

At Greenalia, we are fully convinced that we are going to see a massive rise in the use of floating offshore wind energy, which should be a big boost for all industry in Galicia. In fact, the company has just initiated proceedings for the construction of Spain’s first floating offshore wind farm, in Gran Canaria, with an investment of over 114 million euros. This project will also contribute towards showcasing this sector in Galicia. Over the coming months, the company will present its global strategy to develop this technology and set itself apart as a leader within the sector.

As José María Castellano puts it: “we have invested in Greenalia as we believe that the company is fully committed to respecting our environment, providing value to its customers, maintaining our communities, focusing on continuous improvement and innovation, investing in its employees and increasing value for its shareholders. These key objectives are in line with our family investment practices. We believe that we can use investment and innovation to drive forward both Galicia and Spain, making the company and our country more sustainable. Greenalia has the human resources and the experience to become a key player in the development of new ideas and to be a disruptive force within its own industry. Through innovative ideas, a professional team and hard work, our shared vision of sustainability will determine the next era of sustainable green industry in Galicia and Spain. We wanted to align ourselves with these values and the key reason for investing in Greenalia, was to achieve a larger and more capable sustainable company in the long term”.

Extensive experience Inditex

José María Castellano has a wealth of experience as a leader and investor. He became a member of the Board of Directors at Inditex in 1985 and in 1997, he was appointed as vice president and managing director for the group. He has also been the president of both ONO and NovaGalicia Banco. José María Castellano has a doctorate in Economic and Business Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid and is a professor of Financial Economics and Accounting at the University of A Coruña and a member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Economic and Financial Sciences. He is currently a member of various boards of directors at a number of prominent Spanish companies.