Brazilian Banks, Funds Join Arbitration Against Petrobras
Top Brazilian funds and banks like Itaú Unibanco Holding SA, Banco Bradesco SA and Banco Santander Brasil SA have joined a collective arbitration action against Petróleo Brasileiro SA seeking compensation for graft at the state-controlled oil giant, a newspaper report said on Thursday. State-owned banks Caixa Econômica Federal and Banco do Brasil SA and pension funds including Petros, Previ and Funcef also took part in the action, Brazilian newspaper Valor Econômico said, citing sources familiar with the matter. The move seeks to replicate a January settlement inked by U.S.
Petrobras Hires Bank for Braskem Stake Sale
State-controlled oil producer Petróleo Brasileiro SA hired Banco Bradesco BBI to help sell a 36.1 percent stake in petrochemical giant Braskem SA, Folha de S. Paulo newspaper reported on Wednesday. The company, commonly known as Petrobras, wants to dispose of the Braskem stake to help raise cash from a targeted $15.1 billion in asset divestments by the end of the year, Folha reported, without citing sources. At current prices, the stake is worth 5.8 billion reais ($1.4 billion), Folha said, without saying whether the calculation includes any type of premium. At current prices, Petrobras' Braskem stake is worth about 4.8 billion reais, according to Thomson Reuters calculations.
Petrobras Reaches Deal for Reorganization of Sete Brasil
Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras and other investors reached an agreement to approve the restructuring plan of ailing oil-drilling-rig builder Sete Brasil Participações SA, two leading local newspapers reported on Friday. The plan would pave the way the refinancing of Sete Brasil's $3.8 billion in debt. Shareholders reached a deal for Sete to operate five drills in a joint venture with an international partner, newspapers Valor Economico and Folha de Sao Paulo reported, without disclosing sources for the information. Another 10 drills under construction by Sete Brasil will be operated by another company, the newspapers said.
Petrobras Fuel Unit CEO Could be Out
State-controlled Brazilian oil producer Petróleo Brasileiro SA plans to replace the head of fuel distribution subsidiary BR Distribuidora SA ahead of an initial public offering plan for the unit this year, Valor Econômico newspaper said on Wednesday. According to Valor, the company commonly known as Petrobras will hire an executive recruiting firm to look for a replacement for BR Distribuidora Chief Executive Officer José Lima de Andrade Neto. The newspaper did not say how it obtained the information. Petrobras Chairman Murilo Ferreira, who on Aug 8 voted against the IPO plan for BR Distribuidora, recommended replacing Andrade Neto, Valor said.
Petrobras Chairman Dissents on Fuel Unit Sale
RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Petrobras Chairman Murilo Ferreira dissented in a recent vote to sell a stake of at least 25 percent in the Brazilian state- controlled company's BR Distribuidora SA fuel distribution unit to help reduce debt, board meeting minutes showed. The 10-member board of Petróleo Brasileiro SA, as the oil producer is formally known, approved the proposal 8-2 on Aug. 8, according to minutes published late on Monday. Reuters previously reported that Petrobras was considering listing BR Distribuidora, which controls Brazil's largest gasoline, ethanol and diesel service-station network, before the end of the year.
Petrobras Seeks IPO Regulatory Nod
Petrobras looking to slash costs, sell assets; fuel unit IPO would depend on market conditions. The board of Petróleo Brasileiro SA has approved a plan to seek regulatory permission for an initial public offering of the state-controlled oil producer's fuel distribution unit, weeks after hiring the banks that will handle the deal. The decision to pursue the IPO comes as the company known as Petrobras increasingly relies on cost reductions, asset sales and decreasing capital spending as a way to keep debt sustainable in the face of a corruption scandal.
Petrobras Promises Fail to Convince Investors
Brazilian state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA's long history of failed spending and output plans may be the biggest obstacle to its efforts to convince investors it will reduce its massive debt. The company's $90 billion cut on Monday from planned investment over five years and 30 percent reduction to its 2020 oil and natural gas output forecast mark the first major retrenchment by Petrobras, as it is known, since the discovery of giant offshore oil reserves south of Rio de Janeiro was announced in late 2007. Petrobras, though, has not met…
Banks Agree on $5bln Bailout of Sete Brasil
A group of five Brazilian lenders agreed to extend up to $5 billion in fresh financing for ailing rig producer Sete Brasil Participações SA, in a first step aimed at staving off bankruptcy, two sources with knowledge of the situation said opn Thursday. State-controlled lenders Banco do Brasil SA and Caixa Econômica Federal, and private-sector lenders Itaú Unibanco Holding SA, Banco Bradesco SA and Banco Santander Brasil SA will provide the financing to Sete Brasil once their boards of directors approve the plan, said the sources, who asked for anonymity because of legal impediments to discussing the issue in public. The five banks declined to comment.
Petrobras Prepares Brazil Bond Offering
Petróleo Brasileiro SA is preparing an offering of debt notes in Brazil's domestic markets that could be sold as early as next week, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday. Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras, as the state-controlled oil producer is known, seeks at least 3 billion reais($983 million) with the transaction, said a first source, who requested anonymity since the plan is in the works. If supplementary and additional allotments are placed, the offering could fetch up to 4 billion reais, the same source added. Pricing is expected to take place next week, the first source noted.
Petrobras covers 2015 financial needs with loans, sale
Brazilian state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said on Friday it has approved a series of credit and sale operations to cover its financial needs for this year. Petrobras, as the company is known, approved a letter of credit for export from Banco do Brasil for 4.5 billion reais ($1.48 billion) through its subsidiary BR Distribuidora. The company approved a standby credit limit of 2 billion reais with Caixa Economica Federal for up to 5 years, and also agreed to a pre-approved financing limit of 3 billion reais with Banco Bradesco SA. Petrobras also signed an agreement with bank Standard Chartered PLC to sell $3 billion worth of oil platforms with a repurchase option.
Banks Seek Loan Repayment from Brazil Oil Rig Maker
Five Brazilian banks are joining British lender Standard Chartered Plc in seeking early repayment of loans to oil rig producer Sete Brasil Participações SA, which has been hit by a corruption scandal involving its main client Petrobras, the Estado de S.Paulo newspaper reported on Saturday. The banks are seeking to trigger loan guarantees of 4.5 billion reais ($1.39 billion) to cut their losses on 12 million reais in loans extended to Sete Brasil, a company created to build rigs to tap Brazil's sub-salt offshore oil deposits, the paper said, citing unnamed banking sources.
More Banks Join Syndicate Credit Facility to Brazil Power Sector
Another five commercial lenders agreed to join a syndicate of banks that will extend an additional 6.58 billion reais ($2.9 billion) in emergency credit to Brazilian electricity distributors as drought causes power rates to soar, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. The new banks include JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, Credit Suisse Group AG, banco do Estado de Rio Grande do Sul SA, and state bank Banco do Brasilia, the ministry said in a statement. Banks originally participating in the loan syndication included Itaú Unibanco Holding SA…
Another $2.9b in Loans for Brazil Power Sector
A pool of commercial lenders has agreed to extend an additional 6.6 billion reais ($2.9 billion) in emergency credit to Brazilian electricity distributors as drought causes power rates to soar, a senior finance ministry official said on Thursday. Banks participating in the loan syndication include Itaú Unibanco Holding SA, Banco Bradesco SA, Banco Santander Brasil SA, Grupo BTG Pactual SA, Citigroup Inc and state-run lenders Banco do Brasil SA and Caixa Econômica Federal, said Paulo Caffarelli, the finance ministry's No. 2 official. About 3 billion reais will come from the state development bank BNDES, while the remaining amount will come from the other banks, Caffarelli said.
Bradesco, Santander Brasil Agree to New Utility Loans
Banco Bradesco SA and Banco Santander Brasil SA have agreed to extend new loans to power distributors, a government source told Reuters on Wednesday, asking not to be named because the loans had not been announced. Bradesco, Santander, Banco do Brasil SA and Caixa Economica Federal will lend 3.5 billion reais ($1.6 billion) and state development bank BNDES will lend 3.5 billion reais in a move that should be finalized in the first half of August, the source said. ($1 = 2.25 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Luciana Otoni; Editing by Chris Reese)
Petrobras Secures Loan for RUpdate: efinery
Petroleo Brasileiro SA borrowed 4 billion reais ($1.8 billion) in a 17-year loan from Banco Bradesco SA to help pay for work on the Abreu e Lima refinery in northeastern Brazil, a source with direct knowledge of the deal said on Tuesday. Petrobras, as Brazil's state-controlled oil producer is known, will pay annual interest of 9.5 percent plus Brazil's TR minimum savings remuneration rate, said the source, who declined to be identified because terms of the deal are subject to banking secrecy laws in Brazil. The TR yielded 0.3 percent in the 12 months through the end of February, according to the BM&FBovespa exchange.
Petrobras Secures $1.8b Loan for Refinery
Petroleo Brasileiro SA borrowed 4 billion reais ($1.8 billion) in a 17-year loan from Banco Bradesco SA to help pay for work on the Abreu e Lima refinery in northeastern Brazil, a source with direct knowledge of the deal said on Tuesday. Petrobras, as Brazil's state-controlled oil producer is known, will pay annual interest of 9.5 percent plus Brazil's TR minimum savings remuneration rate, said the source, who declined to be identified because terms of the deal are subject to banking secrecy laws in Brazil. The TR yielded 0.3 percent in the 12 months through the end of February, according to the BM&FBovespa exchange.
