Petrobras could get $768 M with sale of Liquigás

(Rueters) Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) could get up to $768 M from the sale of its liquefied natural gas distributor Liquigás Distribuidora SA (Liquigás), a local daily reported on Wednesday.

In June, the debt-laden Petrobras kicked off a competitive auction for Liquigás, a subsidiary focused on the distribution and sale of LNG.

Newspaper O Globo reported that the country's largest LNG distributor Ultragaz, Supergasbras, controlled by the Netherlands' SHV, Nacional Gás and Copagaz are in the running bid for Liquigás.

Gávea Investimentos Ltda., the hedge fund run by former Brazil central bank chief Arminio Fraga, and Turkey's Aygaz are also interested but unlikely to win the bid, the daily said without citing sources.

Petrobras is also considering extending the deadline to receive the bids from August 19 to August 30, O Globo reported.

Petrobras' press office said the process to sell Liquigás began in June and there is "no agreement yet that assures the transaction will close.”

Liquigás, which has a 23% market share in Brazil's liquefied natural gas market, has 23 plants, 19 warehouses and a network of 4,800 resale shops across the country.

 

Writing by Alonso Soto; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Jonathan Oatis

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