Brazil: British Gas, Shell, CPFL win privatization of Comgas

British Gas (70%) leading a consortium teaming Shell (26%) and the electric company CPFL (4%) offered R$1.65bil and won the privatization auction for the Sao Paulo state gas distribution company Comgas, one of the most coveted assets in the energy industry. The offer was 119,32% up than the R$753.5mil minimum asked price for the company, and above the bids made by Gas Natural, Agip Liquigas, and Enron. Comgas meets only 30,000 consumers in 17 municipalities in Sao Paulo, a market that will boom with the operation of the Bolivia - Brasil gas pipeline, where British Gas is a partner. It manages 2,268 Km of distribution pipes with capacity for 3.4mil m3 per day, and has 1,030 employees. The new owners of Comgas plan to invest US$200mil over the next two years in the company to improve services and expand distribution. British has two projects underway to set up thermal plants at Curitiba, Parana state, and Macae, Rio de Janeiro state, each with 350 MW and to require investments between US$120mil - US$150mil.

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Source: Gazeta Mercantil Page: a1 Date: April 15, 1999 Country: Brazil Product: Gas Distribution Company: Comgas ; British Gas ; Shell ; CPFL Event: Privatisation SABI (South American Business Information)