The text of the project provides that privatization can be done in two ways: either by auction or by offer of shares; the second option must prevail, as happened with Sabesp and Sanepar
The privatization of Minas Gerais Sanitation Company (Copasa) has its decisive week. The vote, in the second round, of bill (PL) 4.380/2025 by the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais (ALMG). The text defines the company’s sales rules.
Definitively approve the PL, written by the governor Romeu Zema (New)the votes of three-fifths of parliamentarians, or 48 of the 77 deputies, are required.
In the first round, on the 2nd, the project was approved by 50 votes for and 17 against — 68 parliamentarians were present. If it is approved on Wednesday, deputies will already take the end-of-year vacation. This should be the only agenda of the day in plenary.
The text of the PL provides that privatization can be done in two ways, either by auction or by offer of shares. According to people familiar with the matter interviewed by the Stage/Broadcastthe second option must prevail, as happened with Sabesp and Sanepar, the sanitation company in Paraná. Copasa would become a company without a defined controller. BTG Pactual was hired to help define the business model.
Zema said at an event in São Paulo in late November that he hoped to sell Copasa in the first quarter of 2026, or at the latest in April and May, to avoid the electoral calendar in which he wants to run for president.
The governor of Minas Gerais said he intended to raise “10 billion reais or more” from the sale, money that would be used to pay debts. The state of MG owns 50.3% of the capital of Copasa and would sell 45% of the shares. Copasa is currently valued at 16.7 billion reais on B3.
Political procedures
The privatization of Copasa, a project launched since Zema’s first mandate, has only just gained momentum. In addition to the processing of PL 4.380, which reached the ALMG at the end of September, there was a proposed amendment to the Constitution (PEC) aimed at eliminating the requirement for a popular referendum to validate the sale of the company, and which was approved in November with a close vote and much noise from the opposition in plenary.
According to people familiar with the matter interviewed in the report, by sending the PL to the ALMG, the government of Minas Gerais was already showing its confidence that it would already have the votes to approve it. The agenda is expected to be used as political capital for Zema, similar to what happened with Sabesp in São Paulo.
The government of Minas Gerais says that the sale of the public company is justified by the difficulty for the company and its controller – the State – to make the necessary investments to achieve the sanitation objectives stipulated in the legal framework of the sector, sanctioned in 2020. The legislation sets the universalization of water and sanitation services in the country by 2033.
In a further step towards privatization, Copasa signed an agreement with the municipality of Belo Horizonte, its largest customer, to extend the period of providing sanitation services to the city from 2032 to 2073. More cities are now expected to follow suit.
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