n their regular meeting, the Board of Directors of GAS NATURAL FENOSA, chaired by Mr Salvador Gabarró, unanimously approved an increase in share capital with the exclusion of the preferential subscription rights that will enable the Algerian Sonatrach to enter in the company's capital with a shareholding of 3.85%.

The agreement involves the issuance of 38,183,600 new shares with a price of 13.4806 euros each, whereby Sonatrach will make cash payment in the total amount of 514,737,838.16 euros.

The operation does not involve the appointment of any representative of the Algerian company to the Board of the Spanish company.

The capital increase and consequent participation of Sonatrach as a minority shareholder in GAS NATURAL FENOSA will be executed once the corresponding approvals by the Algerian authorities have been obtained.

An operation within the framework of the set of agreements signed this week

The operation comes within the framework of the set of agreements signed this week between both companies. The agreements reached and announced on 14th June this year included, among others, the possibility of Sonatrach's acquisition of a minority shareholding, just as both parties have approved today.

GAS NATURAL FENOSA and Sonatrach have resolved the differences they maintained following the August 2010 arbitration ruling, concerning the price to be applied to the gas supply contracts and have agreed to drop all the price review procedures currently underway, including the appeal to the Swiss Federal Court.

A positive impact of around 1,000 million euros on equity

The purchase of 3.85% of the share capital of GAS NATURAL FENOSA by Sonatrach, together with the successful execution of the scrip dividend that was completed this week with an acceptance level of 96.39%, has represented a positive impact on the company's equity in the order of 1,000 million euros.