New operation by Criteria Caixa. The La Caixa Foundation's holding company has reached a preliminary agreement to enter the Celsa group, through a capital increase operation with which Criteria expects to join with approximately 20% of the capital.
The operation is expected to become effective in the coming weeks, after Celsa's board of directors approved moving forward with these negotiations. The group, Europe's leading producer of low-emission circular steel, strengthens its financial reorganization strategy with this agreement, and will boost the industrial plan it has underway.
In this process, Celsa initiated an operation for the incorporation of a Spanish shareholder with an industrial vocation, to which a total of five offers were submitted. Among them, Criteria Caixa's was chosen for its economic valuation and strategic alignment.
The investment arm of the La Caixa Foundation has opted for Celsa for its long-term vision and its commitment to socioeconomic development in the countries where it operates. Similarly, its capacity for innovation, digitalization, and circularity fits with Criteria Caixa's purpose of promoting ESG criteria.
Celsa, which has allocated 58 million euros to R&D in the last three years, has 120 work centers, seven steel mills, 12 rolling mills, and 48 recycling plants, in addition to transformation, distribution, and service companies. With its facilities, the group generates direct, indirect, and induced employment for more than 70,000 people in Europe.
Criteria Caixa announced this preliminary agreement after announcing this Monday the acquisition of 20% of Europastry. These operations are part of the holding company's strategy, chaired by Isidro Fainé, to diversify its portfolio, with the aim of reaching a value of 4,000 million euros by 2030.