Light Servicos de Eletricidade SA

Active

Prospective

Light Servicos de Electricidade SA is an integrated electric utility that serves the state of Rio de Janeiro. The company has a concession area of 10,970 square kilometers with a 174,500km distribution system to serve 2.75 million customers in 1995. In 1995, its main assets were 2,215km of transmission lines, 6,300km of distribution lines, and 776-MW of installed potential. This generating capacity represents 18% of its electricity sales. The remaining electricity (83%) is bought from Electrobras subsidiary Furnas and from the joint Brazilian-Paraguayan Itapu hydro facility. Light Rio distributed 21-billion kWh/year in 1996 which represented 80% of the power in Rio de Janeiro state. The company was partially privatized in May 1996 when Electrobras sold 60% of the equity for $2,200 million in two transactions. In the first one, a controlling stake (51%) was sold for $1,700 million to a consortium comprising AES Corp., Houston Industries Energy (Reliant Energy), Electricite de France (EDF) and Companhia Siderurgica Nacional. In a second transaction, 9% of the equity was sold for $500 million to Brazilian banks and pension funds. In its fiscal year 1997, MIGA reinsured a guarantee issued by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation of the United States to AES Corporation and Houston Industries Energy, Inc. The two companies each received a $7.5 million ($15 million total) guarantee for their equity investments in the privatization of Light-Servicos de Electricidade SA (Light) in Brazil. MIGA's guarantee covers the risk of transfer restriction and expropriation. In 2000, the IADB issued an US$ 100 million guarantee to cover a US$ 200 million senior notes issuance by Light (the notes will be purchased by US banks). In Jan. 2000, BNDES sold a 23% stake in Light to EDF for US$ 379.6 million (R$ 680.6 million); in a second transaction in Mar. 2000, EDF acquired an additional 9.23% of the shares sold by BNDES for US$ 289.6 million (R$ 506.3 million). In Oct. 2000, Reliant Energy sold its 11.7% stake in Light to AES Corporation and EDF (AES Corp. and EDF acquired 30% and 70% of these shares, respectively, for US$ 430 million). In addition, EDF and AES Corp. acquired CSN's stake in the end of 2000. In July 2001, Electricite de France became the sole private shareholder of Light through a restructuring that intends to separate the ownership of Light and Electropaulo Metropolitana. In July 2002, EDF increased its stake to 94.5% of the total capital of Light; and in 2005 it reduced it to 89.4%. In July 2003, Light Rio failed to pay US$130 million to a variety of private creditors. In March 2006 Rio Minas Energia Participações S.A., a company constituted by Cemig, in partnership with Andrade Gutierrez Concessões SA, J.L.A. Participações SA, Pactual Energia Participações SA, and Luce Brasil Fundo de Investimentos em Participações,each with 25%, acquired the 79.39% stake held by EDF International SA in Light SA. The transfer of shares took place on August 10, 2006. As of December 31, 2007 33.7% of the shares were held by BNDESPAR, a state owned enterprise. In November 2014, the state-owned bank BNDES approved a US$ 246.8 million (BRL 580.1 million) loan to the company. In March 2006 Rio Minas Energia Participações S.A., a company constituted by Cemig, in partnership with Andrade Gutierrez Concessões S.A., J.L.A. Participações S.A., Pactual Energia Participações S.A., and Luce Brasil Fundo de Investimentos em Participações, each with 25%, acquired the 79.39% stake held by EDF International S.A. in Light S.A., the holding company controlling an electricity distributor in the state of Rio of Janeiro, which has 3.8 million consumers and approximately 6.4% of the total Brazilian market. The transfer of shares took place on August 10, 2006. Light Rio Servicos de Electricidade invested US$ 167.5 million (R$174 million) in 1996, US$ 285.8 million (R$319 million) in 1997, US$ 343.7 million (R$ 415 million in 1998, US$ 169.8 million (R$ 307 million) in 1999 and US$ 168.3 million (R$ 328 million) in 2000 in improving its network. http://www.miga.org/screens/projects/guarant/regions/lac/Citibank.htm

Energy

World Bank Group

Project

Power Transmission, Hydro, Power Generation (CCGT), Government, Manufacturing (Industrial)