The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and French utility company Engie are buying a combined 90 per cent stake in Brazilian oil and gas transportation network company Transportadora Associada de Gás S.A. for US$8.6 billion.
The new arrangement, which gives Engie a 58.5 per cent stake in TAG and the Caisse the remaining 31.5 per cent, was the result of a competitive bid process conducted by Brazil’s Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. — Petrobras, which will retain a 10 per cent stake in the company.
“Our first infrastructure investment in Brazil represents an important step in the geographic diversification of our portfolio, a key component to long-term performance,” said Emmanuel Jaclot, the Caisse’s executive vice-president of infrastructure, in a statement.
Engie will be responsible for operating and maintaining TAG after its third year of ownership. The sale is dependent on approval from Petrobras’s shareholders and anti-trust authorities in Brazil and the European Union.
TAG has approximately 4,500 km of gas pipeline infrastructure in Brazil. Engie currently operates more than 32,000 km of gas pipelines in Europe and South America.
Maurício Bähr, Engie Brasil’s chief executive officer, said in a statement the company’s strategic objective is “to grow in renewable energies and infrastructures, such as transmission lines and the gas chain.”