US$ 5.62 bi give the petrochemical sector a new look
O Estado de S. Paulo - 12/01/2007
After a marathon of negotiations, yesterday Petrobras announced the simultaneous closing of three business deals that, in terms of financial activity and assets exchange, amount to more than R$ 10 billion (US$ 5.62 billion). The agreements involved Braskem, Suzano Petroquímica, and Unipar and they redefine the Brazilian petrochemical sector. Previously shared by several companies, the sector will now be commanded by two large groups: Braskem and Unipar. The weight of both, however, is fairly distinct. The group controlled by Unipar is born with a revenue of R$ 6.1 billion (US$ 3.43 billion), while the revenues of the group controlled by Braskem correspond to more than three times that value, R$ 16.2 billion (US$ 9.1 billion). Petrobras participates in the capital of both competitors as a minority stockholder. It owns 25% of Braskem and 40% of Unipar. The deals will still be evaluated by the CADE (Administrative Council for Economic Defense), but the CEO of the state-owned company, José Sérgio Gabrielli, affirms that he sees no conflict of interests in the participations. The state-owned company decided for the joint release of the closing of the three agreements to strengthen the notion that the government does not intend to renationalize the petrochemical sector, which started being open in the 1990's. The business had to be signed simultaneously so that Petrobras could grant Unipar the position of controller and faced no problems with Cade. And that is how it was: the three were subscribed yesterday, between 9 and 11 AM, only half an hour before the first press release for the announcement of the deal. The purchase of Suzano, which would initially cost R$ 2.7 billion (US$ 1.52 billion), was closed by R$ 2.6 billion (US$ 1.46 billion). Unipar entered with the complement of R$ 380 million (US$ 213.5 million) in order to remain the majority stockholder in the Southeast and Braskem accepted the offered exchange of assets.