Italy's Enel buys Brazilian power distribution company Celg-D for $647 mln

Italian electricity and gas manufacturing and distribution company Enel has bought Brazilian power distribution company Celg-D from the state-run power holding company Eletrobras, as it presses ahead with plans to expand in Latin America.

Enel SpA, which won the Goias state power distributor in an auction with a bid of 2.18 billion reais ($647 million), is banking on Latin America to support its future growth.

For Brazil’s debt-strapped Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA, or Eletrobras, the sale of Celg-D is the first major step in a plan to sell off its loss-making distribution division to pay down debt.

In 2013, Enel sold 40% of Arctic Russia, a joint venture with Italian oil and gas company Eni, which in turn controlled 49% of peer SeverEnergia, for $1.8 billion.