Petrobras raised R$ 8.6 billion (US$ 2.2 billion) with a new sale of BR Distribuidora shares on Tuesday (23). The gas station subsidiary now has more private than government capital.
The sale is another chapter of Petrobras divestments. President Jair Bolsonaro and Paulo Guedes, head of the Ministry of Economy, plan to accelerate this process of selling assets.
The oil company, which held 71.25% of BR's capital, disposed of 30% of the shares. As a result, BR no longer has state control.
Petrobras closed the sale of almost 350 million shares for R$ 24.50 each (US$ 6.5) . Now the oil company owns 41.25% of the distributor.
A lot of more papers, called supplementary, could expand the numbers of this privatization negotiation in the coming days. Another 43.7 million shares will be offered, also for R $ 24.50 (US$ 6.5) each.
Once these transactions are made, the collection may reach R$ 9.6 billion (US$ 2.5 billion). In this case, Petrobras' stake in the company will fall to 37.5%.
In 2017, Petrobras had already sold 28.75% of BR shares, in an operation that turned R$ 5 billion. Until then, the oil company owned 100% of the distributor's capital, which made BR a state-owned company.
Today, BR Distribuidora's main competitors are Raízen, a Cosan company operating under the Shell brand, and Ipiranga, from the Ultra group.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon