Mon May 12, 2014 9:15am
(Reuters) – Germany utility E.ON (EONGn.DE) said on Monday it would invest another 200 million euros ($275 million) in Eneva (ENEV3.SA), the Brazilian energy group it co-owns with former billionaire Eike Batista, to shore up the debt-laden group’s finances.
The investment will raise E.ON’s 38-percent stake in Eneva, but it will not cross the 50 percent mark, a spokeswoman for Germany’s largest utility said.
Investors have started to voice concern over E.ON’s pricey foray into Brazil after the business empire of partner Batista started to crumble and the Brazilian economy slowed down.
This has caused E.ON to increase its stake in the group several times, swallowing 1.3 billion euros in investments while not bringing in any money so far.
E.ON does not break out earnings figures for Brazil, but the group made a loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of 154 million euros in Turkey and Brazil last year, after a 11 million loss in 2012.
Eneva, which has about 2,400 megawatt (MW) of operational capacity, had net debt of 5.93 billion reais ($2.67 billion) at the end of 2013 and made a net loss of 942.5 million last year. Its shares are down 88 percent since the beginning of 2013.
Apart from Brazil, E.ON is also active in Turkey and Russia, making it the only German utility with a broader international footing, but the company has suffered from exchange rate fluctuations in both markets.