San Diego-based Sempra Energy’s fast-growing Mexican unit, Infraestructura Energetica Nova, SAB de CV’s (IEnova), on Fridaypriced upcoming private and public sales of stock in an effort to raise US$1.43 billion to help acquire a 50% interest in a group of energy pipelines and an associated storage terminal from Mexico’s national energy company, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex).

Another Sempra unit has said it plans to buy US$350 million of the offering, meaning that the parent company will end up with about 68% of IEnova’s stock — slightly less if a 30-day over-allotment option is exercised in full.

IEnova set the offering price at 80.00 pesos/share (US$4.22/share), looking to sell up to 344.9 million shares of Class II single series common stock.

Estimated proceeds of US$1.43 billion are after deducting various costs of the sale (underwriting discounts, commissions, and estimated expenses for the offering) that are payable by IEnova, which has grown in only a few years into Mexico’s second largest energy company, according to its parent company.

In addition to its two major California public utilities and its midstream and liquefied natural gas stake in the Gulf Coast region, Sempra for the past decade has maintained a keen interest in Mexico, which was culminated with a successful, nearly billion-dollar initial public offering for IEnova three years ago (see Daily GPI, May 6, 2013).

Settlement of the offerings is expected to occur Wednesday, subject to the completion of customary closing conditions, Sempra said.

“IEnova expects to use the net proceeds for repayment of Sempra’s bridge financing of the recent purchase of PEMEX’s 50% stake in Gasoductos de Chihuahua, funding a portion of the potential acquisition of the Ventika wind farms, capital purposes, and general corporate purposes,” the company said.

The private part of the offering will be exempt from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933.

In recent years, Sempra senior executives have focused on energy infrastructure development south of the border as a long-term growth opportunity (see Daily GPI, Aug. 8, 2014), looking to Mexican political leadership to encourage more private investment in the energy sector.