Brazil's Petrobras receives bids for LPG unit on Tuesday - sources

Aygaz

10/06/2019 22:30

By Tatiana Bautzer and Carolina Mandl
    SAO PAULO, June 10 (Reuters) - Brazil's state-controlled oil
company Petroleo Brasileiro SA  PETR4.SA  has delayed the
delivery of non-binding proposals for its LPG unit to June 11,
three people with knowledge of the matter said.
    Initially, Petrobras, as the company is known, had set the
delivery date for non-binding proposals to acquire Liquigas
Distribudora SA to June 6. 
    But the company decided to postpone the delivery to wait for
Brazil's Supreme Court ruling on the need of congressional
approval for the sale of subsidiaries. The judges decided on
Thursday that no approval from Congress is needed.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N23D1HK
    Among the investors interested in acquiring Liquigas are
private equity firms Advent International Corp., Warburg Pincus
and CVC Capital Partners. The first two firms are expected to
bid alone for Liquigas, at least in the first round.
    CVC is in talks with an undisclosed strategic partner to
form a consortium. Brazilian investment firm Itausa
Investimentos Itau SA  ITSA4.SA  is in talks with LPG
distribution company Copagaz on a potential joint bid, two
sources said. Copagaz has already discussed partnerships with
other funds but talks did not evolve, the sources added.
    Other financial firms expected to bid are sovereign wealth
fund Mubadala Investment Co, which was outbid by France's Engie
SA  ENGIE.PA  in the process to buy pipeline network company TAG
from Petrobras.  
    Turkish firm Aygaz AS  AYGAZ.IS , which has joined the
Liquigas sale process, is also expected to deliver a bid.
    Ultrapar  UGPA3.SA , which had signed an agreement to buy
Liquigas in 2017 but was barred by Brazilian antitrust watchdog
Cade, was considering a bid in a consortium, but it was not
clear if it would make one. 
    Petrobras restricted the bidders in April to avoid a second
blocking of the deal by Cade. Direct competitors with more than
10 percent of market share in the Brazilian LPG distribution
market cannot have a stake in the consortium higher than 30% of
Liquigas revenue.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N21R0A9
    Liquigas posted revenues of 5.6 billion reais in 2018 and 
net income of 147.5 million. It has 20 million clients and 5,000
points of sale.
    Petrobras, Advent, Warburg Pincus, CVC, Aygaz, Ultra,
Mubadala and Copagaz did not comment on the matter.

 (Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer and Carolina Mandl; Editing by
Dan Grebler)
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