President Hugo Chavez's government moved to nationalize Venezuela's largest private electric company on Thursday, signing an agreement to buy a controlling stake in Electricidad de Caracas from its U.S.-based owner, AES Corp.
The sale agreement was signed by Paul Hanrahan, president and chief executive of Arlington, Va.-based AES , during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Caracas, agreeing to pass the company's 82-percent stake in the utility to the Venezuelan government within 30 days.
Venezuela will pay some $739.3 million for AES' share in Electricidad de Caracas, said Rafael Ramirez, president of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA. He said the company is valued at $900 million as a whole.
Ramirez said minority shareholders, including employees and retirees of the company, would have "the option to stay with us in the new state company or of course to sell us their shares."
"We are preserving the interest of the minority shareholders," said Ramirez, who signed along with Vice President Jorge Rodriguez on behalf of the government.
Ramirez and Rodriguez shook hands with Hanrahan after the ceremony.
The deal marks the first of multiple nationalization moves planned by Chavez since he was re-elected in December. The Venezuelan president also plans to nationalize other smaller companies in the electrical sector, as well as the country's largest telephone company, CA Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela, CANTV.
Electricidad de Caracas has been privately owned since its founding in 1885. U.S.-based AES, a global power company that today has businesses in 26 countries, bought a majority stake of Electricidad de Caracas in a hostile takeover in 2000.
(SUBS 2nd graf to correct share transfer will occur within 30 days sted three months; SUBS 4th graf to add shareholders include employees and retirees; INSERTS new 6th graf with detail. )
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