Enel Chile sells control of transmission business to Grupo Saesa

The transaction was carried out through a public tender offer for shares and control launched between November 7 and December 6, after the approval of the National Economic Prosecutor's Office (FNE) and the fulfillment of the usual conditions for such transactions.

The transaction is expected to generate a positive effect on Enel Chile's consolidated net income of approximately $760 million for 2022.

The sale of the transmission business is part of the company's asset rotation strategy that seeks to prioritize its financial sustainability in order to continue executing the decarbonization plan and boosting electrification.

Enel Transmisión Chile operated 683km of transmission lines, of which 183km correspond to the Chile’s national transmission system, 499km to the zonal transmission system D, and smaller section to the zonal transmission system C and to a dedicated transmission line.

Additionally, it operated 57 of its own substations and managed assets installed in three third party substations.

The buyer, Grupo Saesa, is the second largest electricity distributor in Chile in terms of geographic coverage and supplies electricity to around 950,000 customers and operates 63,476km of distribution lines, 2,280km of transmission lines, and 75 substations.

Grupo Saesa, which also owns 275 MW of wind, hydroelectric and diesel generation plants, is owned by Canadian pension funds Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), each with a 50% interest.

Chilean law firm Carey counseled Enel on the deal, with a team featuring partners Alfonso Silva and Cristián Figueroa, along with counsel Eduardo Martín  and associates Vicente Yubini and Borja Ochagavía.

Law firm Arteaga Gorziglia acted as counsel to Grupo Saesa, with a team led by partners Ignacio Arteaga, Luciano Cruz and Andrés Ossandón.

Enel’s in-house legal team was Domingo Valdés, Mónica Fernández, Isabel Cabeza and Macarena Navarro.

Saesa’s in-house counsel was made up of Gonzalo Caldera and Christine Hoelck.