Mergers and acquisitions in the electricity industry amounted to US $ 293 million in 2016, a record figure, 47% higher than in 2015, according to a survey carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

It is expected that in 2017 it continue to grow. According to Arthur Ramos, partner of PwC Brazil, an expert in the energy sector, Brazil will stand out in this scenario, with the purchase of a billion of CPFL dollars by China State Network, and other expected operations, such as the privatization of Eletrobras’ distribution companies.

There are many assets for sale in the Brazilian electricity industry and consolidation “is something likely” led by those more structured companies.

In the global PwC report, mergers and acquisitions brought in 2016 $ 148.7 million dollars accounted for the energy sector, which includes transportation assets, distribution and conventional generation. The amount represents a 77% increase over 2015. In the area of gas assets there were $ 106 billion, gaining 77.3%. And renewable energy area, $ 38 billion, increasing 31.3%.

North America led operations, with 57% of the total volume traded. The Asian-Pacific region ranked second with 18%, followed by Europe with 17%. The group from Latin America, the Middle East and Africa amounted only a 8% of the total.

The expectation is that the volume of transactions will continue to grow. Of course, in the United States there is expected that Donald Trump will pursue a process in the oil and gas industry, coal as well

Brazil ended up not having submitted in the 2016 report how the largest operations in the electricity sector were not completed in that year. The purchase of CPFL, for example, was only implemented in January.

The large number of investment opportunities in the country, coupled with the expected recovery of the economy, should generate a high volume of transactions this year.

Political uncertainties should not affect this expectation. The investor focuses more on economic fundamentals than on the political situation in the short term, as long as the electricity sector offers contracts with good returns and fundamentals.

Source: Jornal Valor Económico