Companhia Paranaense de Energia (Copel) informed the market that BNDES Participações (BNDESPar) reduced its equity stake in the company after selling part of the shares traded on the Stock Exchange.
The information was disclosed by the company in a notice to the market this Wednesday (11), in compliance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM).
According to the notice, BNDESPar sold shares in sessions held on B3, between February 5 and March 10, 2026. After the transactions, the bank now holds 593.481.610 common shares of Copel, equivalent to approximately 19,9% of the company’s total shares.
The sale was officially communicated to the company by BNDESPar on Tuesday (10), in accordance with the disclosure rules for relevant shareholding provided for by the CVM.
Gradual reduction of the stake
BNDES, through BNDESPar, is historically one of Copel’s main shareholders. The public bank acts as an investor in strategic companies with the aim of promoting economic development and strengthening the country’s capital market.
In recent years, however, the bank has been reducing stakes in several companies as part of divestment programs. Similar moves have already occurred in companies such as Petrobras, Vale, and Suzano.
In Copel’s case, BNDESPar held close to 24% of the company’s capital, a position that placed it among the company’s largest shareholders.
Context after Copel’s privatization
Copel underwent a profound change in its shareholder structure in 2023, when the government of Paraná carried out a large public offering of shares that resulted in the privatization of the company. The operation moved around R$ 4,5 mil millones on the Stock Exchange and turned the company into a widely held corporation, without a controlling shareholder.
Since then, no shareholder can exercise more than 10% of the voting power at shareholders’ meetings, even when holding a larger portion of the capital, a model similar to that adopted in the privatization of Eletrobras.
Copel is one of the country’s main companies in the electricity sector, responsible for power generation, transmission, and distribution in Paraná and with shares traded on the stock exchanges of Brazil, New York, and Spain.
Mandatory disclosure to the market
The sale of shares by BNDESPar was disclosed because it exceeded the thresholds that require public disclosure. According to CVM regulations, publicly held companies must inform the market when a significant investor increases or reduces its stake beyond certain thresholds.
In the notice released this Wednesday, Copel’s Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations, Felipe Gutterres, stated that the company made the information public after receiving the formal notification from BNDESPar.
The company did not disclose the financial volume involved in the sale nor indicate whether further disposals are planned.
