YPF Advances Sale of 70% Metrogas Stake with 13 Bidders as Due Diligence Phase Begins

The divestiture forms part of CEO Horacio Marín’s strategic pivot to concentrate capital deployment on Vaca Muerta unconventional oil and gas development. YPF has systematically divested non-core assets including its Profertil fertilizer stake, mature conventional fields, and subsidiaries in Brazil and Chile. The company expects the Metrogas sale to generate approximately 500 million dollars to reinforce its financial position for Vaca Muerta expansion.

Among the thirteen bidders, publicly identified interested parties include power generator Central Puerto and energy consortium Edison Energía controlled by brothers Juan and Patricio Neuss. The Neuss group expanded its energy portfolio in 2025 by acquiring significant stakes in the Alicurá and Cerros Colorados hydroelectric facilities. Any successful bidder will be required to launch a mandatory public takeover offer for remaining Metrogas shares, which trade on the Buenos Aires stock exchange at 2,021 pesos per share.

Metrogas, established in 1992, ranks as South America’s third-largest natural gas distributor according to company data. The firm services the city of Buenos Aires and eleven surrounding municipalities in the metropolitan area. Beyond YPF’s controlling stake, the ownership structure includes Integra Gas Distribution with 9.23 percent, the National Social Security Administration holding 8.13 percent, and a free float of 12.64 percent traded publicly.

As of December 31, 2025, Metrogas reported shareholders’ equity of 960.345 billion pesos equivalent to 686 million dollars, with total assets of 1.390 trillion pesos and liabilities of 429.731 billion pesos. The transaction remains subject to obtaining applicable regulatory approvals and performance guarantees required under Argentine law. The Energy Secretariat has not yet ruled on Metrogas’s concession renewal beyond its 2027 expiration, a resolution that potential acquirers consider material to transaction completion.