YPF to buy 40% of an Enel power plant

The Board of Directors of YPF Energía Eléctrica (YPF Luz) met today to analyze the exercise of the purchase of the shares of Inversora Dock Sud, which belongs to Enel Américas, owner of the distributor Edesur.

In this sense, it decided to exercise its preferential purchase right of the totality of the shares, a situation that has already been communicated to the National Securities Commission (CNV).

In this way, it will acquire 40% of the Dock Sud power plant, which belonged to the Italian Ente Nazionale per l energia Elettrica (ENEL).

The European group, owner of Edesur - a company questioned for the supply cuts in the AMBA - had reached in February an understanding to sell it to Central Puerto, which committed to pay US$ 54 million for that participation.

But YPF, partner with the same amount of shares, had a preferential option and decided to execute it in the last hours.

YPF Luz must now make a purchase offer for all the shares held by Enel Argentina in Central Dock Sud, provided that the remaining shareholders of the latter do not exercise any preferential rights they may have.

In real terms, this participation is equivalent to 40% of the company, the other 40% of which was already in the hands of YPF and the remaining 20% in the hands of Pan American Energy.

Consequently, YPF Luz's offer is also subject to PAE not exercising its own call option on Enel's stake.

According to a company statement, the decision to exercise the preferential purchase of Inversora Dock Sud will allow YPF Luz to take control of Central Dock Sud, one of the most efficient power plants in the AMBA, whose contribution is essential to supply the area with the highest energy demand in the country.

Central Dock Sud currently has an installed capacity of 926 MW, corresponding to a combined cycle of 856 MW and two gas turbines that reach 70 MW. The plant generates 5,700 GWh annually, which is equivalent to the energy needed to supply 1.6 million homes.

The initiative is aligned with one of the strategic objectives of contributing to the supply of efficient and reliable electricity through generation assets that use natural gas, the most suitable conventional fuel to advance in the transition of the energy matrix.

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