Argentina’s state-controlled energy company YPF will pay US$430 million for the remaining 24.99% of YPF Luz, taking full ownership of a power generator that supplied about 10% of the country’s electricity in the 12 months to June 2026. The purchase would make YPF the sole owner, subject to conditions precedent, though the company hasn’t announced a closing date.
YPF’s board approved the purchase of 237,499,943 Class B shares from BNR Power Investments. YPF already holds 75.01% of YPF Luz. The seller also appears under the name BNR Power Investments B.V., but YPF’s filing doesn’t identify who owns the vehicle today.
Who Controls the Power Company
YPF disclosed the decision to Argentina’s National Securities Commission (CNV) at 7:57 p.m. Buenos Aires time on Thursday, October 8, after US trading had closed. The filing said YPF would finance the purchase from abroad. It didn’t name the lenders or give loan terms.
The Rio Times calculated that the US$430 million price implies an equity value of about US$1.72 billion for YPF Luz. For holders of YPF’s New York-listed shares, the acquisition would give the company full control of a unit with US$479 million in adjusted yearly EBITDA, while adding foreign debt whose cost hasn’t been disclosed.
“YPF continues to grow to become a world-class energy company,” chief executive Horacio Marín said, according to Ámbito. He said the purchase would speed up growth while keeping the company focused on electricity.
YPF Luz, formally YPF Energía Eléctrica S.A., builds and operates power plants and sells electricity from thermal and renewable sources. Its installed capacity totals 3,764 megawatts: 2,740 MW of thermal generation and 1,024 MW of renewable capacity across eight Argentine provinces. YPF calls it Argentina’s second-largest renewable generator and the leader in long-term private renewable power contracts.
Foreign Stake and Planned Listing
General Electric joined YPF Luz as a shareholder in 2018. In July 2019, GE moved its stake into a venture with China’s state-backed Silk Road Fund, according to law firm Marval O’Farrell Mairal. GE later spun off its energy businesses as GE Vernova, which trades in New York. iProfesional reported in July that GE Vernova and the Silk Road Fund control BNR Power Investments.
The buyout would remove the Chinese state-backed fund from a major Argentine power company. The announcement came as a US government delegation visited Argentina to advance a US-backed Andes-Atlantic investment corridor, Infobae reported. The base report doesn’t say the corridor caused or formed part of YPF’s transaction.
In July, YPF Luz filed publicly with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to list shares in New York. The selling shareholder would make the planned sale, and YPF Luz wouldn’t receive proceeds. The shares were intended to trade on the NYSE under ticker YLUZ and in Buenos Aires. YPF hasn’t said whether the listing will proceed, and its acquisition filing doesn’t mention it.
Terms Still Undisclosed
YPF Luz reported US$479 million in adjusted EBITDA for the 12 months to June 2026, including US$130 million in the second quarter of 2026. Its net leverage stood at 1.5 times. The report gives no figures on how the buyout might affect electricity prices or consumers and identifies no public protest or organized opposition to the deal.
The closing date, conditions precedent and lenders behind the foreign financing remain undisclosed. The Rio Times reported no public comment from GE Vernova or the Silk Road Fund by Friday morning, October 9. YPF shares were scheduled to trade in New York that day for the first time since the announcement. YPF also reports material events to the SEC; its latest SEC report cited in the article was dated October 5.