Companhia Florestal do Brasil was the winner of the privatization auction of the shareholding control of Companhia Estadual de Geração de Energia Elétrica (CEEE-G), promoted by the government of Rio Grande do Sul and structured by the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) . The auction was held this afternoon (29) at B3, in São Paulo.
Companhia Florestal, whose main shareholder is the steelmaker CSN, offered R$928 million for CEEE-G, with a premium of 10.93%. The sale of the company from Rio Grande do Sul had a minimum value of R$ 836.9 million and was also disputed by Auren Energia (formerly Cesp).
The governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Ranolfo Vieira Júnior, followed the auction on B3. “This was a historic moment for all of us,” he said.
This was the third arm of the CEEE Group to be privatized. In March of last year, CEEE Distribuidora (CEEE-D) was auctioned and acquired by Grupo Equatorial Energia. One year ago, CPFL Energia was the winner of the privatization auction of the shareholding control of Companhia Estadual de Transmissão de Energia Elétrica (CEEE-T).
CEEE-G is responsible for 1,270.7 megawatts (MW) of power granted, about 13.3% of the total in the state. A first auction attempt had been made in March of this year, with no interested parties.
Rio Grande do Sul holds approximately 66.23% of the share capital of CEEE-G. The mixed capital company has 15 plants of its own with a granted power of around 990 MW, as well as several interests in electric energy generation projects through a Special Purpose Entity (SPE) and consortia.
With the privatization, a new concession contract was granted with a term of 30 years. The winner of the auction must also pay a grant of R$ 1.66 billion to the federal government.
