Iberdrola Secures 98 Pct Stake in Neoenergia Following Strong Response to Takeover Bid

Spanish energy major Iberdrola is set to increase its ownership in Neoenergia to 98 per cent after a strong shareholder response to its takeover bid, marking one of the largest delisting transactions in Brazil to date, the company said on 9 April.

Following the auction related to the offer launched on 24 November, Iberdrola will acquire an additional 14.2 per cent stake in Neoenergia for BRL 33.77 (approximately EUR 5.66) per share, meaning the transaction will involve a payment of BRL 980 million (approx. EUR 5.83 million).

The offer price aligns with the valuation used in Iberdrola’s earlier acquisition of a 30.29 per cent stake from PREVI in October 2025 (BRL 32.5 per share; approx. EUR 5.44), adjusted for Brazil’s benchmark SELIC interest rate and reduced by a special dividend distributed by Neoenergia on 31 December 2025.

With the acquisition, Iberdrola consolidates near-full control of its Brazilian subsidiary and could move to 100 per cent ownership before the end of the second quarter of 2026 as a result of the Brazilian company potentially exercising its right of squeeze-out.

The company highlighted that the offer achieved one of the highest acceptance rates ever recorded in Brazil for a transaction of this kind, underlining strong investor backing for the delisting.

Neoenergia’s business is heavily weighted towards electricity networks, which account for around 90 per cent of its operations. In addition to its network business, the company has around 3,600 MW of installed renewable generation capacity, primarily hydroelectric, and is also developing offshore wind projects. Neoenergia has applied for environmental investigation licences for offshore wind farms in three Brazilian states: Ceará, Rio de Janeiro, and Rio Grande do Sul. Each project has a planned capacity of 3 GW.

In 2024, Neoenergia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government of Rio de Janeiro to explore the development of offshore wind projects and deployed a floating LiDAR off the north coast of Rio de Janeiro the following month.

The move to acquire full ownership in the Brazilian company follows Iberdrola’s takeover of its subsidiary in the United States, Avangrid, in 2024.