Brazil's largest private sanitation company, Aegea, announced on Tuesday, July 7, through a material fact notice, the convocation of its shareholders for an Extraordinary General Meeting, scheduled for July 28, with the objective of deliberating on a capital increase of up to R$ 2.1 billion aimed at strengthening the company's financial structure.
The operation will be carried out through the issuance of up to 37,979,634 common shares, with a unit price of approximately R$ 55.29. An hour after the announcement, Itaúsa – the third largest shareholder of Aegea – informed that, depending on how the other shareholders exercise their respective rights, it may subscribe, within a period of 30 days, an amount between approximately R$ 730 million and R$ 1.5 billion in the operation.
Itaúsa holds 10.91% of the voting capital and 13.27% of the total capital of Aegea. This gives it influence, but not control, since the company is controlled by Equipav (68.69% of the votes) and has GIC (20.40%) as its second largest shareholder.
The announcements come at a time when Agea – present in 15 states and 893 municipalities, serving more than 39 million people – is experiencing a combination of robust growth and significant pressure following a series of recent bad news.
In 2025, the company recorded revenue of approximately R$ 18.3 billion, an increase of over 20% compared to the previous year. EBITDA also grew, reaching R$ 10.3 billion, reflecting the gradual maturation of the concessions.
Despite this, net profit fell to R$ 856 million, a 31% reduction, highlighting the impact of increased financial expenses and recent accounting adjustments.
Debt is currently the biggest point of concern: net debt has reached R$ 47 billion, with leverage of 4.5 times EBITDA, a level considered high for the infrastructure sector.
In April, the market reacted cautiously to the release of Aegea's annual financial results, following a series of delays caused by a comprehensive accounting review of the company's financial statements, which revealed a shortfall of approximately R$ 5 billion in equity, forcing the company to reclassify results from previous years and reducing its reported profit for 2024.
The rating agencies reacted quickly: S&P and Fitch downgraded Aegea's credit rating to speculative grade, raising the cost of funding and further pressuring its capital structure.
Negative tide
Beyond the financial issues, the company faces reputational damage stemming from a leniency agreement signed after admitting to paying R$ 63 million in bribes in six states and 20 municipalities between 2024 and 2025. The agreement stipulates a payment of R$ 439 million to the Federal Government, reinforcing the need for stricter governance and transparency.
More recently, in early June, Aegea suffered another blow, losing the bid for the privatization of the Minas Gerais state sanitation company Copasa to Equatorial – defined as its reference shareholder, after committing to inject up to R$ 7.9 billion into the Minas Gerais company.
Equatorial, which is part of Sabesp's reference shareholder group, was the only bidder in the final phase of privatization, after Aegea Saneamento and its shareholders chose not to submit a new proposal.
Despite these challenges, Aegea remains a central player in the transformation of Brazilian sanitation. Its portfolio is still maturing — approximately 80% of the concessions were acquired in recent years — and the company believes that, with additional capitalization and management adjustments, it can resume its expansion pace.
In this context, the company's IPO, previously scheduled for 2026, has been postponed to 2027, reflecting the ongoing internal restructuring.
