Compass Advances Planning After Acquisition of Gaspetro, Now Called Commit Gás SA, Authorized by Petrobras, Which Involved Participation from 5 Distributors

With The Sale Of Gaspetro Authorized By Petrobras In June, Compass Transferred The Minimum Participation Of The Current Commit Gás SA To 5 Fuel Distributors

The transfer of minority stakes in five natural gas distributors by Commit Gás SA (formerly Gaspetro), validated last Friday, 29, is viewed positively for the former Gaspetro and its controllers, Compass Gás e Energia and the Cosan Group, as analyzed by Credit Suisse.

According to the bank’s analysis experts, the transaction made by Compass to purchase Gaspetro with Petrobras’s permission is as expected, since the state governments exercised their right of preference and Compass had already committed to selling Commit’s (Gaspetro) stake in 12 of its 18 gas distribution companies in the country.

According to the important fact revealed by Compass last Friday, 29, the rights of preference were exercised by shareholders holding stakes in the distributors Algás (AL), Bahiagás (BA), Cegás (CE), Cebgás (DF), and Pbgás (PB). As a result of these operations, Commit (Gaspetro) secured a total amount of R$ 726 million. After the transactions were concluded, the company continues to hold stakes only in the Ceará and Alagoas gas distributors, with 29.4% each.

Compass also states that other sales of stakes in transactions involving the purchase of Gaspetro remain subject to the fulfillment of precursor conditions.

Sale Of Commit (Gaspetro) Minimum Stakes Was Proposed At The Beginning Of The Transactions

The transfer of Commit’s stakes in 12 distributors was discussed in a business plan by Compass, still during the validation process conducted by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) of the operation to purchase the 51% of Gaspetro that were previously owned by Petrobras. The antitrust agency validated the transaction in June this year, in a tight ruling, and in July the sale was finalized in a transaction worth R$ 2.097 billion.

Petrobras Received About R$ 2.1 Billion From The Sale Of 51% Of Gaspetro To Compass

Petrobras stated that the transfer of Gaspetro to Compass, approximately 51% transferred to Compass, which is controlled by the Cosan group, had an operational value of about R$ 2.09 billion.

In June, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) Court approved, without any hindrance, the sale of Petrobras‘ participation in Gaspetro. Almost a year ago, Compass announced the agreement with Petrobras for the purchase of Gaspetro, with an announced value of R$ 2.03 billion.

Petrobras also stated at the time of the sale’s approval that the operation is aligned with the termination commitment term (TCC) validated with Cade in July 2019, to increase competition in the natural gas sector in Brazil, and also with Petrobras’s portfolio management strategy.

Paraíba Invested R$ 50 Million In A Portion Of Gaspetro In PBGás

The government of Paraíba, led by João Azevêdo (PSB), invested about R$ 50 million in the first week of July, for the stake of Gaspetro, recently renamed Commit, in PBGás. By exercising the right of preference in the purchase of shares, the state will hold 75.5% of the common shares in the distributor, also having voting rights.

The state has not yet decided on its next steps, that is, whether it will privatize the concessionaire in the future or sell a smaller share to a new partner.