Ecopetrol to Sell $573 mln Stake in Colombian EEB

Colombia's Cabinet has authorized state-run oil company Ecotpetrol to sell its 1.1 trillion peso ($573 million) stake in energy generator Empresa Energia de Bogota (EEB), the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Ecopetrol said it would use the money raised by the sale, which was approved by Colombia's cabinet ministers, to finance its investment plan for next year.

The company owns 6.87 percent of EEB, which is run by the city of Bogota.

"Ecopetrol is disinvesting in non-strategic areas, like the minority share in EEB, to invest in its priority, which is the development of oil and gas, where the investments will be more profitable," Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas said.

Ecotpetrol's stake will first be offered to unions and pension funds and then to the general public, Cardenas said.

EEB shares fell 2.85 percent to close at 1,700 pesos on Bogota's stock exchange, recovering from a 5.7 percent drop after the sale was announced earlier on Tuesday.

Ecopetrol shares were up 0.9 percent to 3,365 pesos.

($1=1,918.62 Colombian pesos) (Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Paul Simao)