Operation would be through the issuance of shares on the São Paulo stock exchange, and the sale of 30% would make Petrobras keep only 40% of the distributor
BR distributora, the largest gas station company in the country, should even be part of Petrobras' divestments.
The oil company talks with banks and investors to sell 30% and thus keep 40%, the deal must be closed so that the collection reaches R$ 8 billion, since the distributor is worth R$ 27,3 billion and Petrobras' participation revolves around BRL 20 billion for the fourth price on the B3 (Bolsa Paulista).
There is even interest from the American fund BlackRock, indicated as a potential financial investor in the operation, which would buy a slice of the BR distributor shares that are offered.
According to the market, the announcement of the operation could be made in the next few weeks and the deal could be concluded this semester.
Petrobras is in talks with the TCU and regulatory bodies in order to define the sales model to be applied so as not to be surprised as in the case of the sale of TAG to Engie, since the court last year suspended the process and the sale was only made after clearance by the STF, but as BR is part of the stock exchange, there should not be any problems in the operation.
More sales plans
BR Distribuidora is the leader in fuel distribution in Brazil, and in 2018 had a 15,6% increase in net revenue over 2017.
The process of selling Petrobras' stake in the company is part of a plan, since the management of Pedro Parente at the head of Petrobras, to reduce the state's debts. The government wants to raise about $27 billion by 2022 in asset sales.
This year Petrobras made its biggest sale in history, TAG (gas pipeline in the North and Northeast region) was bought by the French company Engie, for US$ 8,6 billion (R$ 33 billion).
Another gas pipeline that was sold was the NTS, in the Southeast region, to a consortium led by the Canadian manager Brookfield for US$ 4,2 billion (R$ 16 billion).
Three more gas pipelines are on Petrobras' sales list. Known as Route 1, Route 2 and Route 3, the three units are approximately 1 kilometers long, departing from the pre-salt layer of the Santos Basin to the coast.
The set is smaller than TAG, but is estimated to be worth more than $3 billion combined, with two of them already operational. and one is still under construction. This operation would need the approval of Petrobras' exploration partners, such as France's Total, Shell, China's CNPC, among others, as it participates in the exploration of the gas produced.
Petrobras also offered Liquigás, its gas cylinder distributor, for sale, as the deal with the Ultra group was not approved by CADE on the first attempt, and the sale is expected to be concluded in the third quarter of this year.
Another sale process is the participation of the state-owned company in Braskem, a petrochemical company, which has Odebrecht as another important shareholder in the business and which may be finalized this semester with the Dutch company LyondellBasell.
