Engie engages Jones Day on $8.6bn purchase of stake in Brazilian gas distributor
Law firm Jones Day is advising French utility company Engie on the purchase of a 90 per cent stake in Transportadora Associada de Gás, the largest natural gas transmission network owner in Brazil.
ENGIE purchased the stake from Brazilian state oil company Petrobras for approximately $8.6 billion.
The purchaser is a consortium composed of Engie, Engie Brasil Energia, and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, after a competitive bidding process.
Petrobras will maintain a 10 per cent equity stake in TAG.
The transaction is conditional upon the approval of the relevant governance bodies of Petrobras and the Brazilian and European Union anti-trust authorities. Closing is expected before the end of the first half of 2019.
“Our acquisition of TAG is a significant milestone for Engie in Brazil, a key market for the group where we have been present for 23 years,” according to Engie’s CEO Isabelle Kocher.
“It is fully aligned with ENGIE’s strategy to become the leader of the zero-carbon transition, supporting Brazil in the decarbonisation of its energy mix. It will also enable the group to build on its infrastructure expertise while diversifying its network activities and seizing opportunities in growing markets,” she said.
Jones Day’s team advising ENGIE is led by Marcello Hallake, of the law firm’s São Paulo energy practice, and S. Wade Angus, who is a member of the firm’s New York and São Paulo M&A team.
