Court Blocks Petrobras Gaspetro Stake Sale to Mitsui

A Brazilian court blocked the 1.9 billion real ($469 million) sale of a 40 percent stake in a natural gas unit of Petroleo Brasileiro SA to Japan's Mitsui & Co, throwing up a roadblock to the state-led oil company's efforts to cut debt by selling assets.

Judge Paulo Piropo de Abreu of the Federal Regional Tribunal in Bahia said in a ruling that he issued the injunction out of concern the sale was not conducted with the proper level of transparency required by the country's public tender laws. This could hide potentially corrupt practices damaging to public finances, he said in the ruling, issued on Monday.

Reporting by Jeb Blount