Portuguese state buys 13.7% stake in REN

Portugal has returned to the shareholder base of REN after state holding company Parpública agreed to buy a 13.7% stake from Pontegadea Inversiones, according to a market filing published by the company on Friday. The move matters because REN runs Portugal’s electricity grid and is central to energy security and infrastructure investment.

REN said Pontegadea signed a contract with Parpública for the sale of 91,723,676 shares, representing about 13.7% of the company’s capital. The value of the deal was not disclosed, and completion is subject to approval by Portugal’s audit court. Based on REN’s closing share price of €3.54 on Friday, before the transaction became public, the stake was worth about €324.7 million.

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro said the state was not seeking to renationalise REN, but to “be inside” the company to safeguard Portugal’s strategic interest in its electricity infrastructure. He said the state wanted to take part in strategic investment decisions and help lower energy prices for consumers and businesses.

Pontegadea, the investment holding company of Zara founder Amancio Ortega, had been REN’s second-largest shareholder before the sale, according to the article. The largest shareholder remains China’s State Grid, with 25%.

The transaction marks the Portuguese state’s return to REN’s capital 12 years after it sold its last 11% stake in 2014, according to ECO’s reporting. Montenegro also said the investment fits within the sovereign fund project now being structured by the government.

Originally published at Eco.pt