PMDC, a subsidiary of PP&L Resources, Inc. (NYSE: PPL), is negotiating to purchase a 25.05 percent interest in Empresas Emel S.A., a Chilean holding company. Emel announced Monday (12/23) that PMDC has been selected as the preferred bidder.
Under the terms of the agreement being negotiated, PMDC would purchase existing and new shares of Emel for about $120 million. PMDC also would enter into a long-term shareholders' agreement with Las Espigas Group, Emel's principal shareholder, and jointly share control of the board of directors and executive committee of Emel. PMDC, Emel and Las Espigas are negotiating definitive agreements, under which the transfer of shares would occur by next May.
It is expected that the purchase price would be financed initially through short-term borrowings incurred by PP&L Resources, with permanent financing to be provided by about 50 percent long-term debt and 50 percent equity.
Emel, with a Duff & Phelps credit rating of 'BBB+,' is the third largest distributor of electricity in the Republic of Chile. Emel's principal subsidiary, Emelectric S.A., serves 130,000 customers in a region south of Santiago, Chile. Emel also has controlling interests in four other Chilean electricity distribution companies and has a 90 percent ownership interest in Elfec, the second largest electricity distributor in Bolivia. In total, the six distribution companies serve 535,000 customers.
Bob Fagan, PMDC's president, said the Emel investment would represent an important strategic advance for the expanding international power company. "About $106 million of PMDC's investment in Emel will be used to capitalize investments throughout South America," said Fagan.
"We have identified South America as a major focus of our activities because of the strong economic growth in countries like Chile, Peru and Bolivia," said Fagan. "We are excited about this possible purchase because Emel is a particularly strong, and efficient, company in this growing market."
He noted that, since 1990, Emel's electricity sales have grown by an average of 11.6 percent per year in Chile and by an average of 8.4 percent in Bolivia.
Fagan said that PMDC is considering additional South American ventures with Emel, including possible investments in electricity, water and communications.
The PMDC president said the Emel investment represents a sound opportunity from a financial standpoint. "Chile, where most of Emel's operations are currently located, has a sovereign Standard & Poors credit rating of 'A-,' " said Fagan.
This project would bring PMDC's total investments and commitments worldwide to about $370 million. The company already owns a 25 percent share of South Western Electricity in the U.K. and has holdings in Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Spain and Portugal.
Fagan said that PMDC has set a goal of contributing at least 10 percent of PP&L Resources' earnings by the year 2000. "We are ahead of the progress that we need to make to achieve this goal," he said. The proposed Emel investment, he said, would have a slight negative effect on PP&L Resources' earnings initially, but is expected to have a positive effect on PP&L Resources' earnings within three years.
PP&L Resources also is the parent company of Pennsylvania Power & Light Co., which provides electric service to 1.2 million customers in central and eastern Pennsylvania.
The matters discussed in this release contain certain forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve estimates, assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these statements. These forward-looking statements were based on current expectations and were derived using numerous assumptions, including assumptions about economic conditions and growth in Chile, Bolivia and other South American countries, the impact of competitive pricing and other competitive pressures within the utility industry in the region, the political and regulatory environment in the region, the effect that any reaction to competitive pressures has on the industry, the need for and effect of any business or industry restructuring, the presence of competitors, capacity and supply constraints, Emel's profitability and liquidity, system conditions and operating costs, financing costs, interest rates, performance of new ventures and Emel's commitments and liabilities. Other factors and assumptions not identified above also were involved in the derivation of these forward-looking statements, and the failure of such other assumptions to be realized, as well as other factors, also may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.