Compass Expects to Raise BRL 900 Million from the Sale of Natural Gas Distributors in Divestment Project Following Gaspetro Acquisition

After acquiring Gaspetro, now Commit, Compass set forth a divestment plan for its assets in the fuels sector and now expects to raise a total of R$ 900 million with the sale of its participation in natural gas distributors.

The company Compass Gás e Energia announced last Tuesday (08/16) that it is projecting a final fundraising of R$ 900 million after the sale of its shares in natural gas distribution companies in the national states, as part of its divestment plan in the structures, established after the purchase of Gaspetro, to ensure market competitiveness in the fuels sector.

Compass’s Divestment Plan After Gaspetro Purchase Projects R$ 900 Million Earnings from the Sale of Natural Gas Distributors

As part of its plan to compensate for the purchase of Gaspetro over the past months, the company Compass Gás e Energia is projecting to receive a total of R$ 900 million from the sale of equity shares in 12 natural gas distributors spread across Brazilian states.

The company had already initiated the divestment plan in July when it completed the sale of its stake in five companies, raising R$ 726 million.

This entire plan for the concession of its assets in the national natural gas market was initiated after Compass purchased a 51% stake in Gaspetro from Petrobras, which is now called Commit and has a strong influence in the national fuel market.

Compass and Mitsui Gás e Energia do Brasil jointly own the 51% stake in the company and recently announced the rebranding of Gaspetro to change the market strategy in the national fuels sector.

Until the end of Compass’s divestment project regarding its assets in natural gas distributors in Brazil, the company will maintain its presence in seven fuel distributors, which should be located in the central-south region, given that the company is prioritizing concessions near São Paulo.

The company stated that the strategic geographical focus should be considered during the divestment plan and that Compass aims for profit in the central-south region in the coming years.

After Divestment in Fuel Distributors, Company States It Will Continue Seeking Improvements in Natural Gas Infrastructure

The natural gas market still requires significant investments in the national territory to achieve quality infrastructure that meets the demands of companies, and Compass stated that, even with the divestment project in the distributor sector, it still intends to continue seeking structural improvements for this segment in the country.

Thus, Luiz Henrique Guimarães, CEO of Cosan, commented on the need for new investments in the sector and for more efficient regulation in the commercialization of fuel, stating that “Today, 60% of the gas market in Brazil already has regulation for free customers. Brazil has a very large reserve, and our intention is to replicate the service for free customers from Comgás’s area, so that customers, if they wish, have the ability to migrate to the free market.”

Finally, the executive was questioned about the international oil scenario and other fuels and the stance of the state-owned Petrobras on this issue and said he believes that Petrobras will continue to make adjustments to maintain the policy of international parity, but that they are not convinced it is a structural scenario, even though they hope that the future will bring greater stability to this sector.