Enel Buys 73% Stake in Eletropaulo

State-controlled Italian energy group Enel has acquired 73% of Brazilian power distribution company Eletropaulo, outbidding Neoenergia, controlled by Spain’s Iberdrola, with a bid of approximately R$ 5.5 billion. The outcome transforms Enel into Brazil's leading electricity distributor, overtaking chinese-owned CPFL Energia.

Since April, Enel and Neoenergia/Iberdrola have locked horns in a fiery battle for the controlling stake of Eletropaulo, a dispute which aroused the attention of national and international competition authorities and skyrocked its value from R$ 3 billion to nearly R$ 6 billion.

Eletropaulo is responsible for distributing energy in São Paulo as well as 23 other cities in São Paulo state reaching an estimated 18 million people. Its purchase will grant Enel - already present in the states of Ceará, Goiás and Rio de Janeiro - an even larger slice of the Brazilian energy market.
 

Eletropaulo is Enel’s third major Brazilian acquisition in 18 months – the company recently purchased power distributor CELG Distribuição  for R$ 2.2 billion and won the public auction for Volta Grande’s power plant with a R$ 1.4 billion bid in 2017 – leaving no doubts as to the company’s aggressive growth strategy in the Brazilian market.