2023-08-09 16:00:21
© Reuters.
By Leticia Fucuchima
SÃO PAULO (Reuters) – The share offering that culminated in the privatization of the Paraná-based electric company Copel (BVMF:) raised a total of 5.2 billion reais, in the second largest share offering on the Brazilian stock exchange B3 (BVMF:) in the year up to now, second involved in the operation.
The privatization was marked by high interest from investors, with demand close to 12.5 billion reais, and the participation of foreigners, with North American managers Zimmer and GQG starting to join the company’s capital, said a source with knowledge of the matter. .
The operation was priced the day before at 8.25 reais per share, a 5% premium over the share price on the offering launch date. In all, 5.2 billion reais were raised in resources that will go to the government of Paraná and to Copel’s cash.
The total value of the offer includes a base allotment of 549,171,000 shares, in primary and secondary tranches, and the exercise of the supplementary allotment (“greenshoe”), equivalent to up to 15% of the offered shares.
The “follow on” diluted the participation of the State of Paraná in the company’s capital to 15.6%, compared to 31% before the offer, causing the electric company to have its capital dispersed on the stock exchange and without a defined controller.
According to the source, 70% of the shares offered went to national investors, and 30% to foreigners. US managers Zimmer and GQG and Brazil’s SPX are among the participants, he added.
“There was a very high demand, it was 2.6 times the ‘book’, something like 12.5 billion reais… And the quality of the investors also called attention”, said the source, assessing that this international interest also reflects a improvement of the country’s macroeconomic scenario.
Sought after, GQG and SPX have not yet returned requests for comment. Unable to contact Zimmer.
The start of stock trading on B3 is scheduled for August 10th. The offer was carried out by BTG Pactual (BVMF:) (lead coordinator), Itaú BBA, Bradesco BBI, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:) and UBS BB (BVMF:).
Now, a period of transition for a new management of the electricity company should begin, with the election of a new board and adaptation to the new norms — the company’s reformed bylaws, with practices aligned with those of a “corporation”, come into force with the conclusion of the offer.
Copel will hold a shareholders’ meeting on Thursday in which new members are expected to be elected to compose the collegiate after the resignation of two members last month.
The expectation is that this collegiate will be at the forefront of the transition process that will start now, until a new slate emerges with the privatization already completed, said the source.
OPERATION HISTORY
The conclusion of the operation, which marks the transformation of Copel into a “corporation”, takes place about 10 months after the government of Paraná announced its intention to privatize the company, in a reversal of plans by Governor Ratinho Júnior, who until that moment had been ruling out the privatization of the company.
Inspired by the model of the privatization of Eletrobras (BVMF:), Copel’s operation also included mechanisms such as limiting the voting power of a shareholder or group of shareholders to 10%, a “poison pill” to hinder any plans for the assumption of control by some shareholder, and the creation of a “golden share” that gives Paraná veto power in certain subjects.
As in the case of Eletrobras, the transaction involved the renewal of hydroelectric concessions, so that the Union –as the granting power of the plants– will also receive billionaire resources with the privatization process.
The primary portion of the offer, of approximately 1.9 billion reais, will be used to pay the bonus for the full renewal of the concessions of the Foz do Areia, Segredo and Salto Caxias plants for 30 years.
Copel is one of the largest electrical companies in the country, with integrated operations in the sector, with a portfolio of distribution, generation and transmission assets spread across 10 states.
The company distributes electricity to more than 5 million customers in Paraná, has almost 10,000 km of transmission lines and a 7 gigawatt (GW) generating complex, made up mainly of plants from renewable sources.
(By Leticia Fucuchima)
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