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Braskem sale remains uncertain, while Apollo awaits signal from Petrobras
The American manager Apollo walks slowly towards the purchase of Braskem, a petrochemical company controlled by Novonor and holds an important part of the Brazilian petrochemical sector. The sales process has been delayed due to the lack of definition of Petrobras plans, owner of 47% of the voting capital of the petrochemical company, for its stake in the company.
According to sources close to the negotiations, Apollo finally asked its board for authorization to proceed with the most complex and costly stage of the due diligence, six months after submitting to the Novonor one new purchase proposal and requesting hundreds of pieces of information about the Brazilian company.
Apollo offer includes 100% of Braskem shares, but no binding or non-binding offer to buy yet
A Apollo offer includes 100% of Braskem shares, including the percentage of Petrobras. However, there is still no binding or non-binding offer to purchase and due diligence to identify liabilities has not started either.
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The manager would be waiting for the Petrobras signaling about the future of your participation in Braskem to take the next step. With the exchange in federal government, the state-owned company suspended the sale of assets with contracts not yet signed for 90 days, starting in March, amid the reassessment of the National Energy Policy and the reformulation of the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) that are ongoing.
New government defends the maintenance of Petrobras in the petrochemical industry and sale to foreigners is not well seen by Brasilia
There is in new government defenders of Petrobras maintenance na petrochemical industry, as did others big oil companies. Furthermore, the sale to foreigners of an asset considered strategic is not well regarded by Brasilia.
Novonor controls Braskem with 50,1% of the common capital and 38,3% of the total. Petrobras holds 47% of the ON shares and 36,1% of the total.
Unipar and J&F Investimentos are also interested in Braskem
Two other potential buyers, Unipar and J&F Investimentos, are still interested in Braskem, with acquisition proposals that provide for different formats and could involve Petrobras' interest in certain petrochemical operations.
A Braskem has been the target of several speculationss acquisition, due to its importance in the Brazilian petrochemical market. The company faced legal problems in Alagoas, due to the sinking of the ground around its facilities, which worsened the financial situation and generated a debt of billions of reais. Solving this liability is a task that Apollo will have to face if it wants to close the deal.
Creditor banks are not pressing for a transaction at any price and an agreement with Novonor allows for an automatic extension of the deadline for the sale of the petrochemicals
The creditor banks, which hold Braskem shares as collateral for debts approaching BRL 15 billion, in turn, would not be pressing for a transaction at any price, they added. At the end of last year, Novonor reached a according to the banks, which now consists of the automatic extension of the term for the sale of the petrochemicals for periods of 30 days.
In summary, the sale of Braskem remains anyone's guess as Apollo awaits clear signaling from the Petrobras, which has not yet decided what it will do with its stake in the company. The situation could drag on for longer and other potential buyers are still interested in the petrochemicals, which could result in an increase in the sale price.
