Neoenergia S.A

What it is

Founded in 1997 following the privatisation of electricity distributors in Bahia and Rio Grande do Norte, Neoenergia is today one of Brazil’s largest integrated energy companies. It operates in 18 states and the Federal District across generation, transmission, distribution, and retail.

The company delivers electricity to roughly 40 million people through five distribution businesses and manages more than 725,000 km of distribution lines, 8,000 km of transmission lines, and 3,600 MW of renewable generation capacity — mostly hydroelectric. Iberdrola describes electricity grids as approximately 90% of Neoenergia’s business.

Who owns it

Spain’s Iberdrola, which has controlled Neoenergia since the early 2000s, finalised its purchase of pension fund Previ’s 18.6% stake in September 2025 for approximately R$8.5 billion (US$1.7 bn). In April 2026, Iberdrola completed a further tender offer, buying an additional 14.21% for R$5.8 billion (US$1.1bn) at R$32.50 per share, lifting its total stake to approximately 98%.

Iberdrola has since announced it will move to fully acquire and delist Neoenergia, triggering a squeeze-out of the remaining minority shareholders. With Iberdrola at ~98%, the free float is approximately 2%, and NEOE3 trading liquidity has already deteriorated significantly.

Who runs it

Eduardo Capelastegui is CEO, having been appointed by the board of directors as successor to Mário Ruiz-Tagle, who moved to another role within Iberdrola. Capelastegui has led the company since mid-2022.

Leonardo Gadelha served as CFO for seven years before departing in April 2026 to become CFO at rival Light. Neoenergia’s new CFO had not been publicly named in available sources at the time of publication.

The money, in plain words

Neoenergia took in R$52.6bn (US$10.2bn) in sales over the last twelve months; it keeps about 9.6 cents of profit from every real of sales — a net profit margin of 9.56%, solid for a regulated utility with heavy infrastructure costs. For every real shareholders own in the business, it earns roughly 14.6 back per year — a return on equity of 14.6%, respectable in a capital-intensive sector.

At a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.7×, the market is paying less than eight years of current profits to own the whole company — cheap by global utility standards, though the pending delisting means very few shares still trade freely. The balance sheet carries significant debt: net debt (total borrowings minus cash on hand) stands at R$49.5bn / US$9.6bn (our calculation), roughly 1.2× total assets net of equity, which is standard for a utility that finances long-lived grid infrastructure over decades.

What it is doing now

Neoenergia delivered approximately R$2.7bn (US$524m) in cumulative net profit across the final quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 — its strongest back-to-back performance since the 2021 Brasília distributor acquisition. The underlying driver: an 8% rise in operating profit translated into 28% net income growth as the company’s debt costs fell with each round of repayment.

Iberdrola says the full buyout will simplify Neoenergia’s corporate structure, providing greater operational and financial flexibility and reducing the costs of maintaining a public listing. In 2025 Neoenergia set a record with eight trophies at the Abradee Awards, the most prestigious honours in Brazil’s distribution sector, including prizes for “Best company” and “Best operational improvement.”

What to watch

• Delisting timeline. The OPA settlement and potential delisting are the near-term corporate events; CVM regulatory approval and B3 Novo Mercado requirements will determine the final exit value for the roughly 2% of shares still in minority hands.
• Tariff reviews. Neoenergia’s profits depend heavily on rates set by Brazil’s energy regulator, ANEEL. Periodic resets — which affect all five distributors on different schedules — can lift or compress margins quickly.
• Debt trajectory. Net debt of R$49.5bn (US$9.6 bn) is large; the pace of repayment, and Brazil’s benchmark interest rate, will determine how much of rising operating profit actually reaches the bottom line.
• CFO succession. The departure of long-serving CFO Leonardo Gadelha in April 2026 is the only senior leadership gap currently visible; the replacement appointment will be a signal of strategic continuity under full Iberdrola ownership.
• Renewable build-out. Neoenergia operates 3.6 GW of renewable generation capacity across wind, hydroelectric, and solar — Iberdrola’s stated ambition is to expand this as Brazil’s energy transition accelerates.

This is news, not investment advice.