 President Hugo Chavez's government nationalized Venezuela's largest private electric company on Thursday, buying a controlling stake in Electricidad de Caracas from its US-based owner, AES Corp. The sale was made official as Paul Hanrahan, president and CEO of AES, signed a document during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Caracas passing the company's 82-percent stake in the utility to the Venezuelan government. Signing for the Venezuelan government was Rafael Ramirez, the president of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA. The sale price was not disclosed. |