Cleary Gottlieb is representing Dolphin Opportunity Fund II, one of Argentina’s leading private equity funds, together with a group of investors, in their $100 million purchase of shares of Empresa Distribuidora y Comercializadora Norte S.A. (EDENOR). The investors will acquire their interest in EDENOR from EDF International S.A.
In the transaction, which is subject to Argentine regulatory approval, the investors will purchase from EDF 14% of the common shares of EDENOR and 100% of the share capital of Electricidad Argentina, S.A., a holding company which owns another 51% of the common shares of EDENOR.
EDENOR is an electricity distributor operating in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cleary represented Dolphin Fund Management, an Argentine investment firm, in the formation of Dolphin’s first investment fund in 2004, and then again in the formation of Dolphin Opportunity Fund II.
After the purchase is completed, the investors expect to restructure both EDENOR and Electricidad Argentina’s debt. Both companies have defaulted on the majority of their debt obligations, together totaling approximately $600 million, following the devaluation of the Argentine peso in 2001.