Sabesp Moves to Buy Control of Emae for R$1.13 Billion as Court Fight and Reviews Loom

Overview

• Sabesp signed agreements to acquire 70.1% of Emae for about R$1.131 billion, buying 74.9% of the common shares from Vórtx (linked to Phoenix’s collateral) at R$59.33 and 66.8% of the preferred shares from Eletrobras at R$32.07, with earn‑out provisions on the Eletrobras block.
• Phoenix filed suit to halt enforcement of its debentures tied to Emae shares, and São Paulo’s 1st Business Court added Sabesp to the case and placed it under seal, with responses due by Oct. 8.
• Completion remains subject to competition and sector regulators, including Cade, Aneel and Arsesp, and Sabesp told investors it expects to fund the purchase with its own resources and target closing in the first quarter of 2026.
• The company frames the acquisition as a water‑security move to integrate the Billings and Guarapiranga systems, with plans for new treatment plants at Jardim Shangrilá and Jardim Ângela, pumping upgrades and an added 7,000 L/s of treated flow.
• Sabesp says integration could lift usable water storage by 52% by 2029, while Emae’s roughly 961 MW hydropower portfolio, including the Henry Borden complex, would bring inflation‑linked energy revenues into its business.