Enel Green Power has sold its 32,6% stake in La geo to Inversiones Energéticas, the Salvadoran state energy company which is the counterparty of the joint venture for the development of geothermal energy in El Salvador. Inversiones Energéticas, already holding a 63,8% stake, was already the majority shareholder of the company La Geo. With this agreement, EGP collects 280 million US dollars (about 224 million euros), thus closing its activities in the country.
EGP and Inversiones Energéticas thus close a dispute that began eight years ago and resulted in the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), at the World Bank in Washington. The negotiations, which took place between the two companies in recent weeks, led to a mutually beneficial agreement, which is part of the settlement agreement signed with the State of El Salvador.
The full effectiveness of the final resolution of the dispute with the Republic of El Salvador is subject to certain conditions (extinction of the local legal actions pending against EGP and its representatives) which will have to be verified in the next six months. The deal was announced late Friday evening. The sale will help reduce the debt and is part of the sale package included in the 4 billion euro to be acquired by 2014.
