Vibra Energia made official on Wednesday the creation of the largest trader in the free electricity market in the country. In the wake of the multibillion transaction announced in October — which began with an investment of R$2 billion in a convertible debenture — Vibra, formely known as BR Distribuidora, confirmed its option to take over 50% of Comerc.
In addition, Vibra and Comerc’s partners — manager Perfin, founder Kiko Vlavianos and executives — also reached an agreement to invest in Targus, an energy trader controlled by Vibra since last year. With Targus, Comerc jumps from the fourth to the first position in the ranking of traders, going to 2.4 gigawatts from 1.9 gigawatts.
By adding Targus to Comerc, Vibra is already beginning to show the return of CEO Wilson Ferreira Jr.’s bet on the energy transition. A year ago, when the company bought 70% of Targus’ capital, the trader was valued at R$90 million. In the transaction with Comerc, the valuation of the company more than tripled, reaching R$303 million.
Under the terms of the transaction, Vibra injected R$2 billion into Comerc’s cash reserves in October through a debenture that will be converted into 30% of the capital. Originally, the company would invest another R$1.25 billion – in a secondary tranche – to reach 50% of Comerc’s capital, but the agreement around Targus reduced the secondary stake to R$1.1 billion.
In the negotiations with Comerc’s partners, Vibra also tied a purchase option to take control of the company between 2026 and 2028. The other Comerc partners are left with a put. When they announced the transaction in October, there was still no definition of the call and put structure.
“Another market leader is born,” Mr. Ferreira Jr. told Pipeline, Valor´s business website. The country’s largest fuel trader, Vibra does not want to lose its hegemony in the energy of the future.
Vibra has been building a multi-power platform that also aims to be a leader. In the commercialization of electric energy, it is already born as a leader in the free market with Comerc. The same logic applies to the sale of ethanol, a business that will be done in partnership with Copersucar.
With Vibra’s investment, Comerc will have the drive for an expansion that foresees R$6 billion in investments until 2025, with a capacity that should jump to 3,900 gigawatts/hour from 121 gigawatts/hour per year in five years. In distributed generation, Comerc is expected go to 550 gigawatts/hour from 157.4 gigawatts/hour.
In addition to the R$6 billion in investments already foreseen, Comerc also has a pipeline of projects that can add another 1,100 megawatts-peak. “This is an asset that was not valued in Comerc’s IPO,” says Mr. Ferreira Jr. When Vibra reached the agreement to acquire the 50% stake, the company went through the distributor’s IPO, paying a premium over what investors would pay to take Comerc to the stock exchange.
In the view of Vibra executives, the renewable power market will only grow. With the easing of barriers to entry into the free electricity market, reducing the size for the use of this format, the expectation is that 50% can be purchased on the free market in a few years, a jump over the current 33%. “This is the market that we are accessing with the transaction,” says Mr. Ferreira Jr.
Vibra will appoint three members to Comerc’s board of directors. The other partners will nominate another three. The board will also have two independent members.
Source: Valor International