On April 5, Reuters reported that staff from China's State Grid had visited Spain's Abungo transmission project in Brazil to consider a possible acquisition of the assets.
With debts of 25 billion euros, Spain's Abungo Group requested protection from creditors in November 2015. At present, Abungo has stopped any investment in Brazil and left some work unfinished.
The Brazilian government wants all of Abungo's assets to be sold together to China's State Grid, Reuters reported, citing official sources. State Grid is seen as the only group with the financial capacity to complete the acquisition.
State Grid of China has confirmed its interest in Abungo's Brazilian assets but has not submitted any formal proposals.
Since the end of 2015, the Ministry of Mines and Energy has held a number of meetings with domestic and foreign investors to identify potential investors for these assets. These assets mainly include transmission lines in operation and other projects under construction.
State Grid began its push into Brazil in 2010, buying seven transmission companies for $989m. Since then, State Grid has invested more than 200 million riyals in the construction of its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro and several projects auctioned off by the Brazilian government.
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