Ecopetrol acquired 51.4% of the shares of ISA

The maximum term to make the payment and transfer of shares is next December 6

This Wednesday, August 11, Ecopetrol announced that it signed the Inter-Administrative Share Purchase Agreement with the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, through which the company will acquire 51.4% of the shares of Interconectado Eléctrica SA ESP (ISA), which they represent the entirety of the nation’s participation.

According to Ecopetrol, the agreed price per share was 25,000 pesos, and in total 569’472,561 shares of ISA were acquired, for which more than 14 billion pesos will be paid, which would be used to alleviate the cash needs of the budget general of the nation for the covid-19 pandemic.

“An inter-administrative share purchase agreement was signed with the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, through which the company acquires 569’472,561 shares of ISA, equivalent to 51.4% of the outstanding shares and which represented 100% owned by the Ministry of Finance in said company, ” the company reported.

For his part, the Minister of Finance, José Manuel Restrepo, pointed out that this is one of the most important operations in the recent history of the country, and it becomes a favorable scenario to attract investment.

“With this operation, ISA and Ecopetrol are strategically strengthened on a fundamental principle: both continue to be companies of all Colombians (…) This agreement, the product of two years of work, includes rigorous analysis and evaluations of the business opportunity. Furthermore, the price reflects the value of ISA and its future growth, the result of a rigorous and exhaustive analysis by a group of experts, ” said Minister Restrepo.

The deadline to make the payment and transfer of shares is December 6, however, the president of Ecopetrol, Felipe Bayón, said that he hopes to pay off the remaining steps in the weeks.

Likewise, the president of the company highlighted that the operation allows two companies that are leaders and have the highest standards of corporate governance to grow together.

“ISA will continue to be ISA. It is a company that we deeply respect and it has a world-class human team, many things to continue learning from it. It provides Ecopetrol with greater resilience and less volatility in oil prices , ” said Bayón.

In addition, Bayón stressed that this will allow the company to take a step in the energy transition it is carrying out on its way to decarbonization.

It should be noted that the oil company announced its goal of zero net carbon emissions for 2050 several months ago , in line with its commitment to mitigate climate change and advance the energy transition and its sustainability agenda.

Through a statement, the Colombian company explained that this objective has a route to achieve these goals that includes: reduction of fugitive emissions, vents and routine burning of gas in teas, energy efficiency in operations, incorporation of renewable energies, Natural Climate Solutions , hydrogen and carbon capture, storage and use.

With this new ambition, the company ratified its responsibility with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and with the purpose of limiting global warming of the Paris Agreement, indicated the president of the company, Felipe Bayón, in the program ‘Prevention and Action ‘.

The 2050 objective has intermediate goals and a short, medium and long-term portfolio, with some projects already implemented or under investigation. By 2030, the Ecopetrol Group seeks to reduce its CO2e emissions by 25%, compared to the baseline established in 2019.