Argentine State Equity Interest in Transener: Public Tender

In the context of the legislative authorization for privatization provided under the Bases Law, the Ministry of Economy issued Resolution 2090/2025, which authorizes the call for a national and international public tender, multi-stage, with a base price, for the sale of 50% of the share capital of Citelec, currently held by Energia Argentina SA (EA). The remaining 50% of Citelec is held by Pampa Energia SA.

Accordingly, the successful bidder must adhere to the relevant shareholders’ agreement.

Citelec is the controlling shareholder of Transener, holding 52.65% of its total share capital, through ownership of all class A shares and 1.65% of class B shares. The remaining 47.35% of the capital corresponding to class B shares is held by Fondo de Garantía de Sustentabilidad of the Argentine Social Security Administration, which owns approximately 19.57%, and by the floating capital, which represents 27.78% and is listed on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange. Transener, in turn, controls Transba.

Transener’s strategic relevance lies in its responsibility for the operation and maintenance of 15,408 km of transmission lines at voltage levels of 500 kV and 220 kV. Of this total, 13,301.8 km—equivalent to 85.8% of Argentina’s extra-high-voltage electricity transmission network—are operated directly by Transener, together with 60 transformer substations. The remaining 2106.2 km are operated by independent transmission companies under Transener’ s supervision. Transba, for its part, operates and maintains 6987 km of high-voltage transmission lines, at voltage levels ranging from 66 kV to 220 kV, as well as 114 transformer substations.

The tender is governed by Bidding Terms and Conditions and other tender documents, which are available for download here: https://contratar.gob.ar.

Below is a summary of the most relevant aspects of the sale of the EA shares:

1. Schedule 
•    Deadline for submitting inquiries regarding the bidding terms: March 13, 2026, at 4:00 PM.
•    Deadline for submitting bids: March 23, 2026, at 9:30 AM.
•    Opening of bids: March 23, 2026, at 10:00 AM, through the CONTRAT.AR platform.

2. Base Price
The base price for the EA Shares is USD 206,200,000, and the economic offer may not be lower than such amount.

3. Main Requirements

3.1 Legal
Both domestic and foreign legal entities may participate in the Tender, if they prove their capacity to enter into legal obligations in Argentina, register with the CONTRAT.AR platform, and comply with the applicable regulations issued by the Argentine Procurement Office. If awarded the tender, foreign bidders must incorporate a local company before executing the share purchase agreement.
Certain entities may not participate in the tender: entities disqualified from contracting with the Argentine Public Administration, those subject—directly or indirectly—to control by sovereign states, and those involved in corrupt practices or otherwise subject to disqualifications established in the bidding t.

3.2 Financial

Bidders must demonstrate: 
(i)  A net worth equal to or greater than the base price, 
(ii)  a solvency ratio equal to or greater than 1.

4. Tender Structure
Bidders must submit their offers in two envelopes:

•    Envelope 1: legal and financial documentation evidencing the bidder’s legal and financial capacity.
•    Envelope 2: economic offer, expressed in USD and payable in ARS at the selling exchange rate reported by Banco de la Nacion Argentina on the business day prior to closing.

5. Bid Bond

Bidders must provide a bid bond equivalent to USD 20,620,000 (10% of the base price), through: 
(i)    a bank deposit,
(ii)    an irrevocable, extendable, unconditional and first demand bank guarantee,
(iii)    a standby letter of credit.

6. Resale Transaction

If the purchaser resells the EA Shares within 24 months from the closing of the transaction, it must pay the Argentine state an amount equal to 50% of the difference between the purchase price and the price obtained in such resale transaction.