GDF Suez, Codelco to merge all SING operations into Edelnor - Chile

Published: Friday, November 6, 2009 17:46 (GMT -0400)More news from Chile

By Business News Americas staff reporters

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Mergers & Acquisitions | Government/Regulations | Thermo/combined cycle generation

European energy firm GDF Suez and Chile's state copper company Codelco have signed an agreement to merge all of their power operations on Chile's northern SING grid into the Edelnor JV in which they each hold stakes.

The assets will include generators Edelnor and Electroandina in addition to the Nor Andino gas pipeline, GDF Suez and Codelco said in separate statements.

GDF Suez projects currently under construction including the Andina thermo plant and a 60% stake in the Hornitos thermo plant will also be brought into Edelnor.

The GNL Mejillones LNG regasification facility being developed by GDF Suez and Codelco will not be included in the merger, Codelco said.

"The new firm will be a more solid company," GDF Suez Latin America CEO Jan Flachet said in the statement. "The company will be able to finance new investments and will maintain a less volatile cash flow."

"Edelnor will be one of the main power companies in Chile," he added.

GDF Suez will have a 52.4% controlling stake in the firm, and Codelco will hold 40%. The remaining 7.6% will be traded on the Santiago stock exchange, according to the statement.

After the merger is complete, Edelnor will have an installed capacity of 1.705GW on the SING that will increase to 2.125GW when the Andina and Hornitos plants come online in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

The firm will also have the capacity to transport up to 8Mm3/d of natural gas from northern Argentina to northern Chile, if natural gas is available. Argentina has severely restricted natural gas exports to Chile.

The merger is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2010, according to the statement.

Codelco, meanwhile, said that it signed a new power supply contract with Electroandina for its Chuquicamata mine. The generator will supply 200-280MW of capacity for 15 years.

The contract will begin in January 2010 and is worth US$1.28bn over the period, Codelco said in a separate statement.

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