By The Rio Times | Created at 2026-10-09 08:16:59 | Updated at 2026-10-09 09:06:25
1 hour ago
ARGENTINA · ENERGY
Key Facts
- —The country YPF is Argentina’s state-controlled energy giant, with shares traded in New York.
- —What happened YPF’s board approved buying the last 24.99% of YPF Luz on Thursday.
- —The price US$430 million, financed from abroad, paid to BNR Power Investments.
- —The company YPF Luz runs 3,764 MW and supplies about 10% of Argentina’s power.
- —What it means for you The seller had planned to offer YPF Luz shares on the NYSE.
- —Still open Conditions precedent remain, and no closing date has been given.
Argentina’s YPF will own all of its power arm, buying out a partner tied to GE Vernova and China’s Silk Road Fund.
Argentina’s state-controlled energy company YPF agreed on Thursday, 8 October, to pay US$430 million for the last 24.99% of YPF Luz. YPF Luz, its power generation arm, produces about a tenth of the electricity supplied in Argentina.
YPF’s shares trade in New York, and the seller was preparing a New York listing of YPF Luz. The selling vehicle is controlled by US-based GE Vernova and China’s Silk Road Fund, the Argentine outlet iProfesional reported.
YPF disclosed the decision in a filing to Argentina’s securities regulator, the National Securities Commission (CNV), at 7:57 p.m. Buenos Aires time. That was 6:57 p.m. in New York, after the close of US trading.
What YPF Approved
According to the filing, YPF’s board approved buying 237,499,943 Class B shares of YPF Luz from BNR Power Investments. The shares carry 24.99% of the company’s capital and voting rights.
The total price is US$430 million, which YPF said was structured with financing from abroad. The filing does not name the lenders or the terms of the loans.
YPF already owned 75.01% of YPF Luz. If certain conditions precedent are met, it will hold 100% of the company, the filing says.
The price implies an equity value of about US$1.72 billion for the whole of YPF Luz, by The Rio Times’ calculation.
“YPF continues to grow to become a world-class energy company,” Horacio Marín, YPF’s chief executive, said, according to Ámbito. He said the purchase would speed up the company’s growth while keeping its focus on electricity.
A Power Company Built on Gas and Wind
YPF Luz builds and runs power plants and sells electricity from thermal and renewable sources. It has 3,764 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity, made up of 2,740 MW thermal and 1,024 MW renewable, across eight Argentine provinces.
In the 12 months to June 2026, it generated about 10% of the electricity supplied in Argentina, YPF said. It calls YPF Luz the country’s second-largest renewable generator and the leader in long-term private renewable power contracts.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached US$479 million over the same 12 months, according to the filing. In the second quarter of 2026 it was US$130 million, with net leverage of 1.5 times.
Live Company IntelligenceYPF Sociedad Anonima — the full investor dossierInside: live share price, market cap, three-year financials, valuation, ESG and peer benchmarks — plus the latest Rio Times coverage.Y
◆ Live Company Intelligence
YPF Sociedad Anonima
NYSE: YPFYPFEnergyOil & Gas Integrated
$19.40B
Market cap
Analyst target $61.38
Wall Street view
4.2Buy/ 5
10 Buy3 Hold0 Sell
Avg. price target $61.38 · +36% vs 200-day
Valuation & profitability
Market cap$19.40B
Revenue (TTM)$29.23T
P / E ratio26.0
Profit margin4.0%
Return on equity7.3%
Price & risk
52-wk low
$24.0052-wk high
$57.87
Beta (volatility)-0.11
200-day average$45.05
Revenue trend · 6y
20202025
Latest $26.53T
Ownership
Institutions40.7%
Shares outstanding392M
Top holderAquamarine Financial (Cayman) Ltd
Institutional holders5+ funds
Dividend
No regular dividend — earnings reinvested for growth.
What YPF Sociedad Anonima does. YPF Sociedad Anónima, an energy company, engages in the oil and gas upstream and downstream activities in South America and Argentina. The company operates through the Upstream, Midstream and Downstream, LNG and Integrated Gas, and New Energies segments. It is involved in the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbon fields and production of…
Who Is Selling
General Electric (GE) joined YPF Luz as a shareholder in 2018, Ámbito reported. In July 2019, GE moved the stake into a venture with China’s state-backed Silk Road Fund, law firm Marval O’Farrell Mairal reported.
General Electric later spun off its energy businesses as GE Vernova, which is listed in New York. In July, iProfesional reported that GE Vernova and the Silk Road Fund control BNR Power Investments.
YPF’s filing names only BNR Power Investments as the seller. It does not say who owns the vehicle today.
What It Means for You
For holders of YPF’s New York-listed shares, the deal brings full control of a unit with US$479 million in yearly adjusted EBITDA. It also brings new foreign debt, whose cost has not been disclosed.
For anyone following Argentine listings, it changes the story of the planned YPF Luz offering. In July, YPF Luz publicly filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list shares in New York, iProfesional reported.
That offering was to be a sale by the selling shareholder, with YPF Luz receiving no proceeds, the outlet said. The shares were to trade on the NYSE under the ticker YLUZ and in Buenos Aires.
The exit also removes a Chinese state-backed fund from a major Argentine power company. It comes as a US government delegation visits Argentina this week to advance a US-backed Andes-Atlantic investment corridor, Infobae reported.
What Is Not Known
YPF has not said whether the New York listing of YPF Luz will go ahead. The filing does not mention it.
The conditions precedent, the closing date and the lenders behind the foreign financing have not been disclosed. The Rio Times found no public comment from GE Vernova or the Silk Road Fund by Friday morning.
What Comes Next
The purchase closes once the conditions in the agreement are met, at which point YPF becomes sole owner. YPF shares trade in New York on Friday, 9 October, for the first time since the announcement.
YPF also reports material events to the SEC. By early Friday, its latest SEC report dated from Monday, 5 October.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is YPF Luz?
YPF Luz, formally YPF Energía Eléctrica S.A., is the power generation arm of Argentina’s YPF. It runs 3,764 MW of thermal and renewable plants in eight provinces.
How much is YPF paying?
YPF will pay US$430 million for 24.99% of YPF Luz, financed from abroad. It already owns the other 75.01%.
Who is selling the stake?
The seller is BNR Power Investments B.V., the company named in YPF’s filing. According to iProfesional, GE Vernova and China’s Silk Road Fund control it.
Is the deal final?
No. YPF’s board approved it on 8 October, but it is subject to conditions precedent, and no closing date has been given.
Will YPF Luz still list in New York?
YPF has not said. YPF Luz filed in July to list on the NYSE under the ticker YLUZ, in a sale by the selling shareholder.
Sources: YPF S.A., material event filing to the CNV on the YPF Luz acquisition (8 October 2026); CNV, YPF S.A. filings page; SEC EDGAR, YPF S.A. filings; Ámbito; iProfesional (14 July 2026); Infobae, on the Andes-Atlantic corridor (8 October 2026); Marval O’Farrell Mairal (2019) (all accessed 9 October 2026).
