Ecopetrol Prices EEB, Prepares to Shed Asset

Colombian state oil company Ecopetrol will sell its stake in energy generator Empresa de Energia de Bogota (EEB) for 1,740 pesos ($0.80) a share, raising some $509 million, the government said in a decree on Tuesday.

Ecopetrol owns 6.87 percent of EEB, which is controlled by the Bogota municipal government.

Though the decree, dated Nov. 13 and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, does not specify a date for the sale, it legally must take place no more than two months from the announcement of the offer.

The sale will occur in several phases, the decree said.

Ecopetrol must first offer the shares to employees, former workers, retirees, pension funds and unions, according to the law. Shares not sold in the first round will then be offered to the general public.

EEB recently expressed an interest in buying back the Ecopetrol shares.

Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra