Brazil’s Eletrobras could raise $2.6 billion in share offering to reduce state ownership

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian state-run power firm Eletrobras could raise more than 14 billion reais ($2.64 billion) with a share offering planned by the government that would reduce its stake in the company to 49%, Chief Executive Wilson Ferreira Jr. said on Thursday.

Brazil’s government currently owns 63% of Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, as the company is formally known, including indirect stakes held by Brazilian development bank BNDES and its equity arm BNDESPar.

But President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration plans to privatize Eletrobras through a primary share offering, which would reduce state ownership and take the company’s control from the government.

The bill on Eletrobras’ privatization, which was sent to Congress late last year, also allows the government to sell some of its existing shares in the company via a secondary share offering.

(Reporting by Luciano Costa; Writing by Gabriela Mello; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)