Germany's E.ON reaches deal to up stake in Batista's MPX -report
Financials »
Fri Mar 15, 2013 6:01pm EDT
* E.ON will purchase half Batista's shares -Valor
* Stake to cost E.ON $942.5 mln
* Deal aims to include BNDES and BTG Pactual
SAO PAULO, March 15 (Reuters) - Germany's E.ON SE has reached a deal to purchase half of Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista's stake in MPX Energia, the energy arm of his EBX conglomerate, a local newswire reported on Friday.
E.ON, which currently owns 11.7 percent of MPX, will purchase half of Batista's 53.9 percent stake in the company at a price of 12 reais per share, bringing its total ownership to 38.65 percent of the company, the real-time news service of financial newspaper Valor Economico reported, without citing sources.
At 12 reais per share, the deal would cost E.ON about 1.87 billion reais ($942.5 million), according to Thomson Reuters calculations.
Press representatives at BTG Pactual, BNDES and EBX, the conglomerate that manages Batista's stakes in mining, oil and logistics companies, declined to comment. Representatives at E.ON could not be immediately reached for comment.
In a second stage of the deal, MPX will issue new shares in order to receive a cash injection from Brazil's state development bank BNDES and Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual, Valor said.
That would dilute E.ON's stake to less than 35 percent of the company, Valor said, allowing it to avoid taking MPX's debt onto its balance sheet until MPX's power plants are operational.
Last week, Batista and BTG Pactual agreed to a strategic partnership under which the bank will provide EBX with credit lines, financial advisory services and help plan long-term investments.
Valor added that an E.ON executive, Marcus Schenck, was in Brazil on Friday and will return to the country next week to finalize the deal.