By Guillermo Parra-Bernal
SAO PAULO, July 3 (Reuters) - Brookfield Asset Management Inc BAMa.TO placed on Monday a formal bid for control of Renova Energia SA RNEW11.SA , which would include 800 million reais ($242 million) in fresh capital for the Brazilian renewable energy company, two people with knowledge of the situation said.
Under terms of the bid, a Brookfield-led group would buy the 16 percent stake that Light SA LIGT3.SA has in Renova at an equivalent of 9 reais per unit of Renova, the people said. A unit is a blend of Renova's common and preferred shares.
The buyout would allow Light to exit Renova's controlling bloc, which is also formed by Cia Energética de Minas Gerais SA CMIG4.SA and RR Participações SA. The Brookfield-led group would then pour 800 million reais into Renova, effectively diluting RR and the utility known as Cemig, the people said.
Brookfield, with massive infrastructure and real estate investments in Brazil, is also demanding full management rights over Renova, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss terms of the proposal, which remains private.
The Canadian investment firm's interest in Renova signals how foreign investors have grown convinced about the resilience of Brazil's renewable electricity industry even as the consumption falls due to the country's harshest recession ever.
Renova, Light, Brookfield's media representatives in São Paulo and the other companies all declined to comment. Reuters reported on May 12 that talks between Renova and Brookfield were at an advanced stage. of São Paulo-based Renova have gained 18 percent this year, on optimism a buyer will pull the company from a severe two-year cash crunch.
Financing conditions for Renova, which was founded in 2001, worsened significantly when a partnership with SunEdison Inc SUNEQ.PK collapsed weeks before the latter filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States.
($1 = 3.3015 reais)