Govt considers 2nd auction for ISA Perú stake

Peru's government is considering holding a second auction for its 17.1% stake in transmission company ISA Perú in the second quarter after it received no bids on March 15, state investment promotion agency ProInversión said in a statement. The base price for the auction is US$4.76mn, the statement said. ProInversión called for bids in July 2004 and originally planned to receive offers in September last year but delayed the process several times. Since no bids were received on the March 15 deadline, the tender was scrapped. If a second auction is held, ISA Perú shareholders will have a 45-day first right of refusal period after bids are received to match the highest price offered in the auction. Unless they take that chance, the stake will be sold to the highest bidder. The government owns the share through its state fund for business financing, Fonafe. ISA Perú was awarded a contract for the construction, supply and operation for 32 years of the Oroya-Carhuamayo-Paragsha-Vizcarra and Aguaytía-Pucallpa transmission lines with their corresponding substations. Colombian state transmission company ISA controls ISA Perú through its subsidiary Transelca (54.9%) and owns a 28.1% stake directly. ProInversión hired Macroinvest to act as financial advisor on the valuing, structuring and sale of the state's shares in ISA Perú as well as transmission consortium Transmantaro and transmission company Redesur.