Grupo Energía Bogotá (BVC: GEB) and La Caisse, the investment arm of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, have signed a final agreement to merge their respective Brazilian power transmission assets into a single 50/50 jointly controlled platform operating under the name Verene Energia S.A. The transaction was announced May 15, 2026, from Montréal and Bogotá.

The combined entity will consolidate 26 electric transmission concession agreements, more than 9,000 km of transmission lines, and a workforce of over 400 employees across 17 Brazilian states. At that scale, Verene will rank among the five largest power transmission operators in Brazil, a market that has drawn sustained interest from international infrastructure investors as the country advances grid modernization programs.

Verene, which had previously operated as La Caisse’s dedicated transmission platform in Brazil, will continue as the reference vehicle for the combined portfolio. The partners have indicated that the platform will be positioned to pursue acquisitions and network expansions in Brazil’s transmission concession market, with grid modernization and decarbonization cited as the broader policy context driving new investment opportunities.

“By bringing together highly complementary assets under one banner, the partnership establishes Verene as a scaled, business-driven platform with strong financial backing.” — Emmanuel Jaclot, Executive Vice-President and Head of Infrastructure and Sustainability, La Caisse

Grupo Energía Bogotá, headquartered in Bogotá and listed on the Bolsa de Valores de Colombia (BVC: GEB), has operated in Latin America’s energy sector for more than 130 years. The company holds assets in electricity generation, transmission, distribution, and gas transportation and distribution across Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Guatemala. Its entry into the joint venture contributes its existing Brazilian transmission concessions to the merged platform alongside La Caisse’s Verene assets.

La Caisse manages net assets of 517 billion CAD as of December 31, 2025, on behalf of 48 depositors representing more than six million Quebecers. The fund is active across major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate, and private credit, and has built a significant infrastructure portfolio in Latin America through investments including the Verene platform.

Juan Ricardo Ortega, president of Grupo Energía Bogotá, described the rationale for the transaction in terms of combining complementary strengths. “By combining our operational expertise and regional market knowledge with the financial strength and global perspective of our partner, we are creating a platform positioned to accelerate growth, expand transmission energy infrastructure, and support Brazil’s energy transition,” he said. “We believe this alliance will generate sustainable value for our stakeholders and contribute to Brazil’s economic and energy development.”

Emmanuel Jaclot, executive vice-president and head of infrastructure and sustainability at La Caisse, framed the deal as a consolidation play. “By bringing together highly complementary assets under one banner, the partnership establishes Verene as a scaled, business-driven platform with strong financial backing,” Jaclot said. “GEB brings more than 130 years of operating heritage and ranks among Latin America’s leading energy infrastructure groups, with deep expertise across the region’s transmission sector. Together, we share a vision to strengthen Verene’s footprint in Brazil through value-creating acquisitions and continued support for the country’s energy transition.”

Financial close is expected by the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions, regulatory consents, and approvals. BTG Pactual (BVMF: BPAC11) acted as financial advisor to La Caisse, with Pinheiro Neto Advogados serving as legal counsel. Citibank (NYSE: C) advised Grupo Energía Bogotá on the financial side, while Mayer Brown provided legal advice to GEB.

“The Québec market is incredibly important to us, and we’re proud to introduce direct service to San Andrés this winter,” says Lyne Chayer, vice president, Québec, Sunwing Vacations Group. “This hidden Caribbean gem offers an authentic and vibrant experience that perfectly complements our vacation offerings from Québec City and, with the recent addition of Grand Sirenis San Andrés, gives our travel advisors and mutual clients even more choice of all-inclusive options for their winter getaways,” Lyne added.

The Grand Sirenis San Andrés, which opened earlier this year, caters to both adventure seekers and relaxation enthusiasts alike. The resort boasts an array of amenities suitable for all ages, including:

• An infinity pool with an uninterrupted view of the Sea of Seven Colors, and a kids’ pool.
• Culinary offerings with Brazilian, Italian, Japanese, and steakhouse options.
• A variety of on-site activities and entertainment, including resort-offered yoga, the Miniclub Sirenios for kids, live music and shows, and more.
• Modern gym, curated wellness experience, and access to the region’s cultural attractions nearby.
• Accommodations with tropical-inspired décor.

The new direct route from Quebec City to San Andrés will operate from December 2025 to April 2026, providing Quebec residents with an opportunity to explore one of Colombia’s most vibrant islands and experience the newly established Grand Sirenis San Andrés resort.

Grand Sirenis San Andrés. Photo credit: Grand Sirenis San Andrés hotel.

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Prosecutors elaborated that Lepage invited foreigners and Colombians to the property to for sex, drugs, and gunplay. Colombian magazine La Semana reported that Lemaire already had legal trouble in Colombia, accused of property damage in 2022, illicit appropriation of natural resources (2023), threats (2023), and now with these charges, firearms and drug trafficking. News daily El Tiempo reports that Lepage marketed his parties in Canada saying tourists could “be a narco for a day,” charging $5,000 for the experience, complete with women and wild animals.

In addition to Lepage, four of the ten people present in the house during the police raid had criminal records, according to the police.

#Antioquia/ CAPTURADO ” SASHA O EL GRINGO ” EXTRANJERO CANADIENSE POR MÚLTIPLES DELITOS.

en la ultimas horas la captura en flagrancia de un ciudadano de nacionalidad canadiense en el municipio de El Peñol, conocido bajo los alias de “SASHA” o “EL GRINGO”, por los delitos de… pic.twitter.com/e0KsE4khL8

— Denuncias Antioquia (@DenunciasAntio2) April 18, 2024

With regards to the wild animals, Colombian regional natural resources agency Cornare has urged prosecution of Lepage for trafficking in Colombian wildlife, a serious crime. In a statement issued by Cornare (translated here):

The evidence obtained confirms that the presumed offender is Mr. Sacha Lepage Lemaire, identified with foreigner cédula (national ID) 9 705 528, residing in Medellín, the (apartment complex) Plaza Oviedo without more data, and in total had 4 animals captive, including a cougar cub (puma concolor), two cariblanco monkeys (cebus sp.) and a blue and yellow macaw (Ara ararauna).

In the operation (where Lepage was arrested) none of the wild specimens from the operation is the same that was registered in the images and videos.

We cannot count on information regarding the destination or where the macaw or monkey seen in the videos are being kept.

It is important to initiate legal environmental proceedings against Mr. Sacha Lepage Lemaire, identified with foreigner cédula 9 705 528 for the illegal possession of wild animals as evidenced in the attached photos and videos in this report, and for the mistreatment of the cited animals. Also to link the process against Mrs. Estefania Restrepo Metrio, identified with citizen’s cédula 1 037 639 660 for her participation in this activity that gravely affects Colombian wildlife.

Estefania Restrepo Metrio is a Colombian DJ who goes by the monicker Metrioz WithZ on Facebook and Instagram. Restrepo had posted photos of herself playing with the baby cougar, at Lepage’s residence, but has since removed the posts.

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Construction workers torture chickens on Bogotá Metro project:

#Denuncia🚨 Violencia contra animales (¿santería?) en obra del @MetroBogota @Bogota ‼️

El hecho atroz ocurrió en la Av Boyacá con 1a de mayo. Quién nos envió el video, dice que trabajadores hacen esto cada vez que terminan una etapa de la obra.

Sres @AnimalesBOG @FiscaliaCol… pic.twitter.com/haUm9bNE8A

— Andrea Padilla Villarraga (@andreanimalidad) March 19, 2024

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The offering will be marketed by a syndicate of underwriters led by Canaccord Genuity Corp. and will be priced and sized in the context of the market, with such terms including the offering price of the units and the exercise price of the warrants to be determined at the time of entering into an underwriting agreement for the offering.

The underwriters will be granted an over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the units offered pursuant to the offering on the same terms and conditions for a period of 30 days following and including the closing date of the offering. The over-allotment option may be exercised by the underwriters to acquire units, unit shares and unit warrants.

Khiron will apply to list the unit shares and the warrant shares to be issued upon exercise of the unit warrants on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV). The listing will be subject to Khiron fulfilling all of the requirements of the TSXV.

The net proceeds of the offering will be used for general corporate and working capital purposes. Closing of the offering will be subject to a number of customary conditions such as, receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals and stock exchange approvals, including approval of the TSXV and the entering into of an underwriting agreement with the underwriters.

The offering is being made in the provinces and territories of Canada except Quebec, and in the United States on a private placement basis compliant with exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933. The units will be offered in each jurisdiction through those underwriters or their affiliates who are registered to offer the units for sale in such jurisdiction and such other registered dealers as may be designated by the underwriters.

The Offering is expected to close on June 10, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and the receipt of regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSXV. The offering will be conducted pursuant to a prospectus supplement to the company’s existing Canadian base shelf prospectus dated May 21, 2021filed with the securities regulatory authority in each of the provinces and territories of Canada.

Mineros President and CEO Andrés Restrepo Isaza (above) commented “Mineros is a well-established Latin American gold mining company with a long history of delivering growth and strong dividends to investors on the Colombian Stock Exchange. Filing our preliminary prospectus is an important step for the company’s growth, as we establish ourselves as a multi-asset, mid-tier gold producer “.

In connection with the offering, Mineros has applied to list the common shares to be distributed under the offering, as well as its additional issued and outstanding common shares, on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The company has also applied for an exemption from the individual voting and majority voting requirements applicable to listed issuers under TSX policies, on grounds that compliance with such requirements would constitute a breach of Colombian regulations which require the directors to be elected on the basis of a slate of nominees proposed for election pursuant to an electoral quotient system as more fully set out in the preliminary prospectus. Listing is subject to the approval of the TSX in accordance with its original listing requirements. The TSX has not conditionally approved the company’s listing application and there is no assurance that the TSX will approve the listing application.

The preliminary prospectus containing important information relating to the common shares has been filed with securities commissions or similar authorities in each of the provinces of Canada, except Québec. The preliminary prospectus is still subject to completion or amendment. Copies of the preliminary prospectus may be obtained from either of the underwriters listed above and will be available on https://sedar.com/. There will not be any sale or any acceptance of an offer to buy the securities until a receipt for the final prospectus has been issued. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved the contents of this news release.

Mineros intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund repayment of the indebtedness created by the Luna Roja Davivienda loan and for general working capital.  The funds provided by the Luna Roja Davivienda loan were used to complete the acquisition by Hemco of the 50% interest in the Luna Roja exploration target not already owned by it and the acquisition of the corresponding interest in the related joint venture which closed on May 21, 2021.

The same day, Mineros also filed with the Colombian Superintendence of Finance a preliminary prospectus in respect of a concurrent public offering in Colombia of common shares for gross proceeds of up to $10 million USD. The Colombian offering is being made through Corredores Davivienda S.A., Comisionista de Bolsa, as underwriter. The offering of the common shares in the Colombian Stock Exchange (BVC) pursuant to the Colombian offering and the offering remains subject to the approval of the Colombian Superintendence of Finance.

The Common Shares have not been registered in the United States, so they are not offered or sold in the United States except under an appropriate exemption.

Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP in Canada and DLA Piper Martinez Beltran in Colombia are acting as legal counsel to the Mineros, and Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP is acting as legal counsel to the underwriters.

PharmaCielo granted the agents an option to purchase an additional 840,698 shares sold in the offering. A portion of the over-allotment option has already been exercised and is reflected as part of the gross proceeds as the offering. Each common share was issued at a price of $2.15. The company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for growth initiatives and for general working capital purposes.

Henning von Koss, CEO of PharmaCielo Ltd.

“The additional capital provided by the offering puts PharmaCielo on solid footing to execute a focused strategic plan designed to leverage the company’s recently completed production facilities into results for shareholders. In the short-term, we are in the process of building a global sales organization through the addition of highly experienced technical business development professionals, with a mandate to close late-stage opportunities, grow our sales pipeline and shepherd potential customers from the introduction phase into testing and purchase. Alongside these concentrated sales initiatives, we will continue to invest in innovation, specifically to grow the company’s product offerings and formulation expertise, which we expect will translate into sustainable long-term shareholder value creation as global demand from sophisticated B2B consumers continues to grow over the next several years,” said Henning von Koss, CEO of PharmaCielo Ltd.

In satisfaction of a condition of the offering, senior management and directors of the board of the company have entered into a lock-up agreement for a period of 120 days from the date of closing prohibiting their disposition of securities of the company subject to certain exceptions.

The offering was conducted by way of a short form prospectus in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. A copy of the final short form prospectus is available under the company’s profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.

Photos courtesy PharmaCielo

Vern is a founding Director of Royal Road Minerals having served on the company’s board since its inception in 2010. Arseneau is a geologist with over thirty years of experience in mineral exploration and project management, of which the last twenty years have been spent in South America; primarily in Peru, Chile and Argentina.

Arseneau started his career in gold and base metals exploration in eastern Canada and was instrumental in the discovery and development of the 1.5 million ounce deposit Beauchemin gold mine located west of the city of Noranda, Quebec. Arseneau spent twenty years working in senior positions in Canada and South America with Noranda Inc., and in 1997 he was appointed as Noranda’s General Manager in Peru where he participated in the acquisition and development of the world class Antamina copper-zinc skarn deposit.

Following that, Arseneau moved to Argentina where he managed Noranda’s El Pachon copper porphyry project. From 2006 he was Vice President of Exploration for Zincore Metals Inc. and was responsible for the exploration of two zinc oxide deposits as well as the discovery of the Dolores copper-molybdenum porphyry project in Peru.

“It is our great privilege to have Vern, a co-founder of Royal Road, actively involved and directing exploration operations at the company” said Peter Mullens, Royal Road’s Chairman of the Board “We expect that 2020 will be a transformational year for Royal Road and its partners, with at-least three drilling projects planned in Colombia and Nicaragua, grass roots exploration underway and royalty-earning formalization programs to be managed and advanced. Vern is well-known and respected by the Royal Road team and he has the necessary depth of experience and the strong social and environmental conscience the Company needs to maximize its chance of success”

Image courtesy of Royal Road Minerals

The reception was organized by local professional services firm Unido Digital and Finance Colombia. “It is great to see that Colombia, and Medellín in particular, are attracting positive attention from the rest of the world when it comes to investment, commerce and establishing closer business ties,” said Loren Moss, executive editor of Finance Colombia and founder of Unido Digital. “Canada is one of Colombia’s primary trading partners, and Quebec is one of the most economically and politically important regions of Canada. It makes perfect sense for Colombian and Canadian executives to work together in order to strengthen economic, cultural and political ties.”