Inditex founder Ortega buys 5% in Enagas's renewable, hydrogen unit

MADRID (Reuters) - Fashion retailer Zara founder Amancio Ortega bought a 5% stake in Spanish gas grid operator Enagas's renewable and hydrogen unit Enagas Renovable, Enagas said on Wednesday.

Ortega's family office Pontegadea, which had already taken a 5% stake in Enagas, will partner with Hy24, a joint venture between buyout fund Ardian and green hydrogen investor FiveT, which took a 30% stake in the renewable unit last week, while Enagas will keep 65%.

Pontegadea, the Ortega family's investment vehicle, controls a 59.29% stake in Inditex and manages a portfolio of real estate investments in New York, Toronto, London and downtown Madrid.

It has bought minority stakes in energy infrastructure such as Enagas, Red Electrica de Espana, Portugal's Redes Energeticas.

Separately, Enagas reiterated it expects a 2022 net profit of between 380 to 390 million euros considering capital gains from asset sales and the impairment of U.S. firm Tallgrass Energy.

The company reported a half-year profit net of capital gains and non-recurring impairments of 215.5 million euros, up from 213 million a year earlier.

($1 = 0.9863 euros)

(Reporting by Christina Thykjaer; editing by Jason Neely)