FERRERE advised the Canadian pension fund Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec (CDPQ) on acquisition of various assets of the Italian company Terna at regional level. With this deal, CDPQ has entered the power transmission market in Latin America.
Among other assets, it acquired 100% of Terna’s Uruguayan affiliate, Difebal S.A., which holds an operating lease agreement with Uruguay’s electric utility, Administración Nacional de Usinas y Trasmisiones Eléctricas (UTE), in connection with the Melo-Tacuarembó 500 kV converter station project, including design and erection of a 500 kV electrical transmission line, to connect the two cities in in northern Uruguay. The line runs 210 kilometers, and the lease agreement has been structured at 30 years and is the first of this type for a T line in Uruguay.
The agreement, for a total of approximately USD 279 million, was signed on April 29, and the deal is expected to close during the second half of 2022.
The Uruguay project is among those CDPQ is acquiring in the region under the agreement, which also includes three in Brazil (with the possibility for a fourth) and another in Peru.
This transaction reflects the investors’ goal to achieve a 60% reduction in carbon emissions in their portfolio by 2030.
FERRERE’s advice was led by partner Manuel Lecuona and a broad team of associates including Agustina Pérez Lete, Enrique Slekis, María Victoria Costa and Ana Laura Oliveros.