Italy’s Enel purchased 73 percent of the Brazilian power company Eletropaulo's shares on Monday, paying about 5.55 billion Brazilian reais ($1.48 billion) to become Brazil’s largest electricity distributor.
Enel's subsidiary Enel Sudeste has received confirmation of the completion of its offer for the purchase of the entire share capital of Eletropaulo, the press release said.
It added that "confirmation received for 122,799,289 shares, equal to 73.4 percent of the company’s capital stock, have been tendered in the offer."
Enel Sudeste will finance this acquisition with short-term bank financing arranged and secured by its controlling shareholder Enel Americas, according to the press release.
In line with Brazilian stock exchange regulations, the transaction will be settled with payment of the price and transfer of the shares on June 7, 2018.
Shareholders of Eletropaulo will have until July 4 to sell their remaining shares to Enel Sudeste for the same price under the offer, at 45.22 Brazilian reais per share, equivalent to approximately $402 million, based on current exchange rates.
"The acquisition of Eletropaulo is an important step forward for our Group in Latin America, strengthening our leadership in the important Brazilian distribution market in line with our strategic plan and our particular focus on the large metropolises of the world." Enel CEO and General Manager Francesco Starace said in the press release.
"We bring to São Paulo our expertise as one of the largest network operators at global level, and certainly the one with the most advanced grids in terms of digitalization, efficiency and resilience. This expertise will be deployed in the São Paulo grid, strengthening and digitizing the network, delivering benefits to Eletropaulo’s clients and continuing to drive value for Enel’s shareholders,” Starace added.
Enel Sudeste has received the approval of the Brazilian antitrust authority (the Administrative Council for Economic Defense or CADE), while the Brazilian energy regulator (Agencia Nacional de Energia Eletrica or ANEEL) is expected to approve the transaction in the coming days, the company announced.
(Anadolu Agency, 05/06/2018)
