Brazilian Antitrust Authority Approves BTG's Integration of Rio Alto's 150 MW Solar Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) approved on July 17 BTG Pactual's integration of all equity interests in three special purpose entities (SPEs) under the Rio Alto Group through the enforcement of guarantees. These companies are responsible for the photovoltaic projects at the Santa Luzia complex in Paraíba state.

This equity transfer is part of Rio Alto's financial restructuring measures. Rio Alto is currently negotiating debts with creditors under an out-of-court reorganization plan, involving bonds and bank credits totaling 1.7 billion reais.

The solar power plants involved in the transaction are Santa Luzia V, Santa Luzia VII, and Santa Luzia IX, with a total installed capacity of 150 MW, all located in the municipality of Santa Luzia, Paraíba state. The transaction will also be reported to the Brazilian National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), but does not require approval from that agency.

According to the transaction documents submitted to Cade, this operation involves only BTG Pactual's integration of equity through the enforcement of guarantees, not a traditional asset acquisition. With the enforcement of the guarantees, BTG will obtain control of the aforementioned project companies.

The three companies to be taken over by BTG Pactual were initially not included in Rio Alto's out-of-court reorganization process because they were operational and their revenue was deemed sufficient to meet regulatory obligations. However, as generation curtailment increased, these projects were affected, and Rio Alto subsequently requested the inclusion of the three companies in the reorganization process. BTG Pactual holds claims of approximately 108 million reais against these three SPEs.