The IG4 manager submitted this Tuesday to Cade, the body which regulates competition in Brazil, the agreement to buy the stake of Novonor (formerly Odebrecht) in Braskem. The company is valued at 20 billion reais.
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IG4 advises the manager Vórtx Capital and last week signed a “final and binding” agreement with the banks Bradesco, Itaú, Santander, Banco do Brasil and BNDES, which hold the Braskem shares given as collateral in the Novonor legal recovery process.
Currently, Novonor controls Braskem. The construction company owns 50.1% of the voting capital of the petrochemical company, while Petrobras owns 47%. The remaining shares are held by minority shareholders. Braskem is listed on the São Paulo Stock Exchange (B3).
In a statement, Petrobras informed that it would be a willing participant in the process, that is, it would formally participate in the contract. According to the public company, the success of the agreement will depend on the terms of a possible new shareholders’ pact, “which still remain subject to the approval of Petrobras’ deliberative bodies”.
In a note, the company said that “the progress of the negotiations does not affect the rights of Petrobras, which will continue to monitor and evaluate the effects of the potential operation to, if necessary and at the appropriate time, decide whether or not to exercise its rights provided for in the current shareholders’ agreement or to enter into a new agreement, if necessary.”
Behind the scenes, the public company has been pushing for the new agreement to allow it to participate in the management of Braskem, with the appointment of administrators and advisors. Today, Petrobras does not participate in the day-to-day operations of the company.
IG4 has two months to finalize negotiations with Novonor. If the transaction is successful, IG4, through an investment fund, will hold 50.1% of the voting capital of Braskem and 34.3% of the total capital of the company, becoming respectively the holder of ordinary shares (ON, with voting rights) and preferred shares (PN, without voting rights).
In the press release published last week, Braskem informed that Novonor will retain preferred shares equivalent to 4% of the company’s capital.
Since 2018, Novonor has been trying to sell its stake in Braskem. Negotiations have already taken place with LyondellBasell, J&F (holding of the Batista family, controlling JBS), Apollo Global Management, Adnoc (public oil company of the United Arab Emirates), Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), a subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), Unipar, Braskem’s main Brazilian rival, and businessman Nelson Tanure.
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