STXNEWS LATAM-BG Group sells stake in Argentina's Metrogas

Britain's BG Group has agreed the sale of its direct and indirect participation in troubled Argentine natural gas distributor Metrogas, the company said on Wednesday.

BG will sell its 54.7 percent stake in Gas Argentino - the holding company that controls Metrogas - as well as a 7 percent direct stake in the gas distributor to Integra Gas Distribution LLC for an undisclosed sum.

"(BG) is leaving its Argentine business," a Metrogas spokesman said, adding that he did not have any information about Integra Gas Distribution. Local brokerages said they did not know who owned the company or what it did.

Metrogas, which distributes natural gas to about 2 million customers in and around the capital Buenos Aires, has been suffering financial problems due to a tariff freeze imposed a decade ago at the height of a sharp economic crisis. In September, it said it was struggling to pay providers because of the tariff freeze.