Enel beat Iberdrola with $2 bln bid for Eletropaulo
(Adds deal value and background)
By Carolina Mandl
SAO PAULO, May 30 (Reuters) - Italy's Enel SpA outbid Spanish utility Iberdrola SA with a 7.6 billion reais ($2 billion) bid for Brazilian grid operator Eletropaulo Metropolitana Eletricidade de Sao Paulo SA, according to a Wednesday securities filing.
Enel's Brazilian unit offered 45.22 reais ($12.15) per share for Eletropaulo, beating a bid of 39.53 reais per share from Neoenergia SA, Brazil's largest utility by customer base, which is controlled by Spain's Iberdrola SA.
The offer must still be formalized at the Sao Paulo stock exchange on June 4 and approved by Eletropaulo's shareholders, which include BNDESPar, the investment arm of state development bank BNDES, and AES Corp.
Eletropaulo shares have nearly doubled since early April, when Enel and Iberdrola entered a fierce battle for control of the company.
With Eletropaulo, Enel will gain access to 24 cities in the São Paulo metro area, which provides 16 percent of Brazil's gross domestic product. Enel currently operates in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Ceará and Goiás.
($1 = 3.72 reais) (Reporting by Carolina Mandl Editing by Leslie Adler and Lisa Shumaker)
