Company News, Regulation & Policy Sep 6, 2021 5:18 PM
MinHacienda José Manuel Restrepo and MinEnergia Diego Mesa talked about the ‘deal of the year’.
Restrepo said that this is one of the most important operations for the country, Portafolio reported.
“ISA and Ecopetrol are strategically strengthened on a fundamental principle: both continue to belong to all Colombians, and will continue to operate independently,” Restrepo said.
He added that this acquisition will be fundamental to advance in the path of the energy transition policy and that there is now a common responsibility: to strengthen the national energy sector, seeking “competitive synergies”.
“The government will continue to be a majority shareholder of ISA through Ecopetrol, this will meet reactivation, investment and growth needs,” Restrepo said.
Diego Mesa, Minister of Mines and Energy (MinEnergia), said that three aspects will be strengthened with the sale of ISA.
“Strengthening the energy transition policy, guaranteeing energy security in the country and diversifying the portfolio of the country’s most important company, which is Ecopetrol,” Mesa said.
ECP’s Felipe Bayón said that ISA and the oil company will grow together.
“This operation will not only be transformational in the context of energy transition policy, but will also clear the way for the two leading companies to grow together,” Bayón said.
Bottom-Line: The main beneficiary of this deal was the government, as it solved the state’s cash flow problems.
However, authorities have failed to explain what benefits and synergies are generated between ECP and ISA, beyond ‘advancing the energy transition’.
