White & Case Advises on Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras S.A. – Eletrobrás’ Historic R$33.7 Billion Public Offering

Global law firm White & Case has advised the underwriters and international placement agents in an approximately R$33.7 billion (approximately US$6.9 billion) public offering by Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras S.A. (Eletrobrás) and the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES). The offering was the second-largest equity offering by a Brazilian issuer in history, and the largest equity deal in Latin America so far this year. 

The global offering comprised 732,296,868 common shares, including 9,783,100 American Depository Shares (ADSs), at a price of R$42.00 per share. ADSs representing common shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "EBR."

The common shares were listed on the São Paulo Stock Exchange (B3 S.A. — Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão) under the ticker symbol “ELET3” and on the Madrid Stock Exchange, through the Mercado de Valores Latinoamericanos en Euros under the ticker symbol "XELTO."

Eletrobrás is the largest electricity generation and transmission company in Brazil responsible for approximately 28 percent of the country’s installed energy capacity. This offering was particularly noteworthy given its size and that it resulted in the Brazilian federal government’s voting stake in Eletrobrás falling below 50 percent, effectively privatizing the company.

The White & Case team was led by partners John Guzman and Abraham Paul (both in São Paulo), and included partners Donald Baker (São Paulo), John Vetterli, Bibiana Jaimes (both in New York), Richard Burke (Washington, DC), Michael Garcia (Miami) and Chad McCormick (Houston); counsel Claudette Druehl (New York) and Karen Katri (Miami); and associates Beatriz Barros (São Paulo), Neil Clausen and Sadi Moradi (both in Houston). 

In Latin America, White & Case advises on the full range of equity and debt offerings, and the Firm has achieved a leading reputation for routinely advising on “first to market” and award-winning transactions. Our cross-border Latin America-wide Capital Markets Practice is among the highest ranked, according to the most recent editions of Chambers Latin America: Capital Markets and The Legal 500 Latin America.

Press contact
For more information please speak to your local media contact.