Based on the financial facts and the characteristics of the entity, **NATURGY ENERGY GROUP SA** is **Strongly Suitable** for the issuance of hybrid bonds. Here is the reasoning aligned with the provided guidelines: 1. **Sector and Business Profile**: Naturgy is a leading European regulated utility and energy infrastructure company. The S&P methodology highlights that regulated utilities benefit from highly visible, predictable cash flows and regulatory advantages. This sector represents the traditional and most frequent issuer base for corporate hybrid bonds, matching the "Strongly Suitable" criteria exactly. 2. **Investment Grade Profile**: The company operates squarely in the BBB-area investment-grade space. Companies in this rating bracket have the highest incentive to issue hybrids to protect their credit ratings, defend against downgrades, and maintain strong institutional market access without diluting equity. 3. **Capex and Funding Rationale**: Utilities require vast and continuous capital expenditures to fund the ongoing energy transition (e.g., upgrading grids, developing renewable generation). In 2022 alone, Naturgy's capital expenditure for property, plant, equipment, and intangibles amounted to roughly EUR 1.69 billion. Furthermore, they paid out approximately EUR 1.5 billion in dividends. Hybrids offer a core, recurring funding instrument to support this heavy capex and shareholder return profile while preserving senior debt capacity. 4. **Leverage and Rating Headroom**: Although Naturgy's leverage temporarily improved in 2022 due to the exceptional spike in energy prices (with EBITDA surging to EUR 4.95 billion, yielding a net debt-to-EBITDA of ~2.2x), the utility business model requires careful long-term management of S&P's FFO-to-Debt metrics. Issuing or refinancing hybrid debt (which S&P typically grants 50% equity credit) materially supports this adjusted leverage. 5. **Capital Market Credibility**: As a large-cap national incumbent in Spain, Naturgy has exceptionally high credibility and an established financial policy that supports continued access to the deep institutional capital markets necessary for hybrid issuance. Furthermore, large utilities like Naturgy typically maintain outstanding hybrid bonds as a permanent layer of their capital structure, resulting in highly probable periodic refinancing needs as existing hybrids approach their first call dates. Strongly Suitable