The consortium led by Engie seals the $ 8.6 billion purchase of the Petrobras pipeline unit

PARIS (Reuters) – A consortium led by the French group Engie has won a bid of $ 8.6 billion on the arm of the Petrobras TAG pipeline. This contract strengthens Engie's presence in a growing industry and will help Petrobras reduce its debt.

Engie said on Monday that its successful bid for a 90% stake in TAG was made by a consortium involving Engie and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) of Canada. Petrobras will retain 10% of TAG's capital.

Engie said that the purchase of TAG would provide a steady stream of profits, with TAG representing 47% of Brazil's total gas infrastructure.

"Our acquisition of TAG is an important step for ENGIE in Brazil, a key market for the group we have been in for 23 years," said Isabelle Kocher, General Manager of Engie.

"It is fully in line with Engie's strategy to become the leader in zero carbon transition, helping Brazil decarbonise its energy mix," said Kocher.

Under Kocher, Engie focused its investments on energy services, renewable energy and infrastructure, while selling coal-related badets.

Engie said the acquisition of TAG, which represented a profit of 1.14 billion USD for 2018 in 2018, would increase Engie's net debt by around 1.6 billion euros.

The sale of TAG also represents a victory for the leadership of Petrobras and its managing director, Roberto Castello Branco, who are striving to offload their badets in order to reduce their debt and refocus on exploration and production. .

In September 2016, Petrobras sold to Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP, a larger gas pipeline gas pipeline, Nova Transportadora do Sudeste, for $ 5.2 billion, which exceeded the purchase offer of $ 10 billion. 39; Engie.