Overview
- Copasa announced late Wednesday that Equatorial, through its unit Gerais Saneamento, submitted the sole binding bid of R$49.03 per share to buy a 30% stake in the state utility.
- The initial block is worth about R$5.59 billion and Equatorial signaled interest in up to 48 million additional shares that could raise its total outlay to roughly R$7.94–7.95 billion.
- Equatorial has arranged letters of guarantee with Bradesco, Banco do Brasil, Santander and Itaú Unibanco to back potential additional purchases of up to about R$7 billion.
- The selection is not final and depends on a retail reservation period, the bookbuilding process, CVM rules and final allocation before the transaction becomes effective.
- The state fixed a minimum price of R$47.23 per share and a previous consortium led by Aegea withdrew after that change, leaving the sale as part of Minas Gerais’ plan to shrink its stake and raise funds to address public debt.