SAO PAULO: Petrobras isn’t ruling out buying a majority stake in Braskem if the petrochemicals producer is at risk of deterioration.
Brazil’s state-controlled oil producer would prefer to have another company buy the majority stake in Braskem that is for sale, Petrobras chief financial officer Sergio Caetano Leite said, adding that Petrobras would only buy the stake “in a case of extreme need”.
Braskem SA shares tumbled last week after Abu Dhabi National Oil Co decided to back away from its offer to acquire a major stake at the petrochemicals giant, a development that signaled the stop-and-start sales process will drag on for longer.
Novonor SA, Braskem’s troubled controlling shareholder, has been struggling to find a buyer for its stake.
“It’s a relevant asset and it’s a basis for internationalising Petrobras’s downstream,” Leite said during a call with analysts, adding that Petrobras “will not let that asset deteriorate”.
Braskem has operations in Latin America, the United States and Europe, which makes it an ideal platform for Petrobras to compete in foreign markets for petrochemicals, one of its growth strategies.
Petrobras is Braskem’s second-biggest shareholder after Novonor, with tag along and also preferential rights. — Bloomberg