Colombia power play

Colombia’s third-biggest power generator can be privatized, the country’s judiciary said last week.

If so, there could be considerable interest in Isagen, with a market share of 16%, based on an installed capacity of 2.5 gigawatts, almost 90% generated by hydropower.

The company, whose shares trade on the Colombian stock exchange, in 2014 had a profit margin equivalent to $300 million, on revenue of $1.2 billion, according to the annual report.

Among potential bidders is Paris-based ENGIE, which in 2014 had operating income of E7,2 billion from power generation and distribution, along with energy services in 70 countries, including Brazil, where it is the biggest private power producer.

ENGIE was formed in 2008 through the merger of Gas de France and Suez SA.

Colbún SA is a major Chilean electrical-power company, with a capacity of 3 gigawatts, 60% of which comes from fossil fuels, while the rest is hydropower.

Colbún, whose shares (Spanish only) trade on the Chilean stock exchange, in 2014 earned $80 million on revenues of $1.5 billion.

For its part, Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, Inc., has a global portfolio valued at more than $200 billion, including a concession to operate highways in Chile; the company had been active in Brazil for over a century, starting with the inauguration of the tramway lines of Sao Paolo and Rio at the turn of the 20th century.

Part of Brookfield’s portfolio consists of energy companies, with installed capacity of more than 7 gigawatts, two thirds from hydroelectric power and a third from wind.