Brazil-based financial institution Itau Unibanco has acquired a minority stake in utilities company Eneva’s subsidiary Eneva Participações III (Eneva III), owner of the Parnaíba complex.
Itau Unibanco has invested 1bn reais ($209m) to acquire the 15.02% stake in Eneva III. The remaining 84.98% interest is held by Eneva.
Eneva III owns a 100% stake in the Parnaíba complex. Located in the town of Santo Antonio dos Lopes in Maranhão state, the complex is one of Brazil’s largest thermal power parks for natural gas-based energy generation.
The power complex is based on an integrated reservoir-to-wire model, where the gas from the local fields is used for power generation.
The Parnaíba complex has a total capacity of 1.9GW, with 1.4GW already in operation.
The complex comprises six thermal power plants, of which Parnaíba I, II, III and IV are in operation while V and VI are still under development.
In May 2023, Eneva entered discussions with Itau on the sale of a minority holding in Eneva III.
The announcement was made after Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense, the country’s competition regulator, had completed a preliminary analysis and approved the transaction.
Eneva commenced commercial operations at its 692.4MW Futura 1 solar complex in Brazil’s Juazeiro City in May 2023 with an investment of 3.2bn reais ($639.6m).
Operations at the plant began following clearance from the Brazilian watchdog Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica.
