Enersis Heard Close to Equity Raise

Enersis is preparing to launch the initial phase of its $6bn equity capital raise as soon as this week or next, according to sources following the sale. The sale was approved in December, after months of back and forth with regulators and minority investors. The transaction is expected to include an ADR portion sold in the US. The holdco for LatAm assets of Spain’s Endesa indicated it was in discussions with 16 local and international banks regarding the sale, including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BTG Pactual and JPMorgan, who are heard to have won senior roles. An investor relations official at the company declines to comment on the process. Endesa plans to subscribe its portion of the transaction with its LatAm assets that don’t already belong to Enersis, and needed several months of negotiations with Chilean pension funds and multiple outside evaluations to reach agreement on the assets’ value. The process will raise funds for acquisition opportunities and streamline Endesa’s operations in LatAm by placing all of its holdings under Enersis.