Japanese conglomerate Marubeni, together with an infrastructure fund established by Toesca Administradora General de Fondos, has agreed to acquire 100% stake in GasValpo.
Image: Marubeni intends to enter into the natural gas distribution business in South America. Photo: courtesy of thesomeday1234/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
The deal to acquire GasValpo, a natural gas distribution company in Chile, will allow Marubeni to enter into the natural gas distribution business in South America. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
GasValpo provides natural gas distribution services to approximately 100,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers.
The firm said that the deal will be its third venture into the gas distribution business worldwide followed by the first natural gas distribution businesses in Australia in 2011 and in Portugal since 2016.
Marubeni said in a statement: “This is the first time that Marubeni will be involved as a majority shareholder in the natural gas distribution sector.
“Marubeni will foster further business development of GasValpo in a cooperative relationship with the current management team and the staff and will explore the growth and expansion of its natural gas distribution portfolio and its business domain in the Americas, Europe and Australia by utilizing the knowledge & expertise acquired from existing business endeavors.”
The firm expects to continue to grow and diversify its portfolio in the Chilean infrastructure sector with the acquisition of GasValpo.
Earlier this year, Marubeni has acquired 70% stake in Renewable Energy Test Center to enter the photovoltaic modules testing business in the US.
The remaining 30% ownership interest in RETC will be held by existing investor, PFIL North America, which is a member of the Philippine-based Ayala Group of Companies.
RETC provides certification testing services, which verify the safety of photovoltaic modules, and bankability test services to assess the long-term reliability and durability of photovoltaic modules.
The facility is also set to provide a new certification test service for electric vehicle batteries and for stationary storage batteries.