The sale of Liquigás is in line with Petrobras' strategy to focus its resources on world-class assets in deep and ultra-deep waters.

Petrobras informed yesterday (23/12) in a material fact that it finalized the sale of its entire stake in Liquigás to Copagaz and Nacional Gás Butano for R$4 billion. The finalization of the transaction occurred shortly after the Itaúsa issues billionaire debentures to buy the national market leader in the distribution of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)

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Copagaz will be the new parent company of Liquigás, together with Itaúsa — an investment company owned by Itaú Unibanco shareholders. Nacional Gás will acquire a minority stake and, after a corporate reorganization, will own the equivalent of 18% of the volume of LPG sold.

According to the president of Petrobras, Roberto Castello Branco, the completion of the sale of the stake in Liquigás represents a milestone in Petrobras' strategy of divestment to reduce debt and focus on world-class assets. “We are focusing on what we know how to do best and which brings more value to our shareholders. Maximizing the return on capital employed is one of the pillars of our Strategic Plan for the 2021-2025 five-year period. Copagaz and Nacional Gás Butano have great expertise in the marketing and distribution of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and will continue to supply quality and safety to Brazilian consumers,” said Castello Branco.

For Celso Rocha, director superintendent of Nacional Gás, the purchase will enable an increase in the availability of LPG to consumers. “The acquisition also represents an important milestone in the history of Nacional Gás and in the LPG sector. With this, our company will be able to increase its business and consolidate its operations in the South and Southeast regions of the country.”

remembering the case

Petrobras' first attempt to sell Liquigás took place at the end of 2016 to Ultrapar for BRL 2,8 billion, but the deal was vetoed by CADE after the agency declared the negotiation with the Ultra group "complex". Still in the management of Pedro Parente at Petrobras.

Negotiations between Petrobras and the Copagaz group, Itaúsa and Nacional Gás Butano have been taking place since August 2019, when the consortium was selected to present its best proposal. The dispute also featured an international investment fund Mubadala and the Consigaz/GP Investimentos consortium.

About Liquigás

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Petrobras, Liquigás is present in almost all Brazilian states, and has 23 operating centers, 19 depots, a road-rail storage and loading base and a network of approximately 4.800 authorized resellers, with around 21,4% of market share.