Naturgy closes the sale of Compañía General de Electricidad to China’s State Grid

Cuatrecasas advised Naturgy on the sale of Compañía General de Electricidad S.A. (CGE), the main electric power distributor in Chile, to Chinese state company State Grid International Development Limited (SGI), after this company successfully launched a takeover bid as the last necessary step to complete the transaction. The transaction value was €2.7 billion.

In November 2020, both companies announced an agreement for the sale of the 96.04% stake Naturgy held in CGE. In the last few months, the transaction obtained the required regulatory approvals and authorizations from Chilean competition supervisors, and SGI launched its takeover bid at the end of June.

The Cuatrecasas team in Santiago de Chile that participated in the operation was made up of lawyers Roberto Guerrero V., Macarena Ravinet, Josefina Yávar, Gianfranco Lotito, Tomás Kubick and Pilar Illanes.

Roberto Guerrero explains that, “This transaction involved selling assets in Argentina, amending covenants in current bond issue contracts, approval by the competition authorities in Chile and China, and a takeover bid on all the shareholders of the acquired company; all of which was coordinated with local and international lawyers and financial advisors and with several sectoral authorities in Chile and China.”