LISBON, PORTUGAL – Portugal has nationalized and is now selling the majority stake in Efacec Power Solutions that had been controlled by Angolan businesswoman and the daughter of former Angolan President, Isabel dos Santos, Portuguese government said on Thursday.
The nationalization of 71.7% of the company is a transitionary move to help the manufacturer of electrical equipment, including transformers, find a new buyer, and shares were put immediately on the market, reports Devdiscourse.
"The cabinet took this decision because Efacec is in a situation of impasse after the 'Luanda Leaks'," Economy Minister Pedro Siza Vieira told reporters after a cabinet meeting, referring to documents alleging corruption in Angola.
Namely, Dos Santos bought her stake in the company in 2015 for around $225 million (€200 million) through the offshore company Winterfell 2 Limited. In December 2019, hundreds of thousands of files dubbed the "Luanda Leaks" were released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists about alleged financial schemes used by dos Santos to build her business empire, Devdiscourse reports.
The problems in Efacec’s shareholder structure have led to difficulties with clients, suppliers and creditors, and some orders have been canceled in the last few weeks, according to the minister Siza Vieira.
Portuguese media report that the minister already has a list of candidates bidding to purchase the company.
Although the list has not yet been released to the public, it is expected that this will happen soon. The interested parties that are mentioned are the Portuguese Alpac and Sodecia, the Egyptian Elsewedy, as well as Ormazabal, Iberdrola, and the North American Oaktree and First Reserve.
Source: Devdisourse; CLBrief