Brookfield puts power lines in Brazil on the block, sources say

Published: 2022-01-13 11:23:42 ET BAM

SAO PAULO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Canada's Brookfield Asset Management has put up for sale roughly 2,400 km (1,500 miles) of electric transmission lines in Brazil held by its portfolio company Quantum, according to five people familiar with the matter.

Brookfield recently hired investment banking units of Itau Unibanco Holding and Banco BTG Pactual SA as advisors for a sale, the sources added. No timeframe for the delivery of non-binding offers has been set yet.

Founded in 2017, Quantum has more than 5,000 km in transmission lines requiring 10 billion reais ($1.81 billion) in capital expenditures. Some of the lines are still under development, with completion expected by 2023.

Brookfield has put up for sale only operational power lines, three of the sources added, which are mainly in Brazil's northeastern region. One of them estimated the equity value of the lines at roughly 3.5 billion reais.

Brookfield declined to comment on the matter.

Brazilian grid operator ONS estimates the country will need nearly 24 billion reais in investments in transmission lines by 2026, mostly to send energy from wind and solar power projects in the northeast to the rest of the country.

($1 = 5.5110 reais) (Reporting by Carolina Mandl and Leticia Fucuchima Editing by Brad Haynes and Marguerita Choy)