A 'Chicago Boy' Takes the Reins at Petrobras
Depending on who you ask, Roberto Castello Branco, the new chief executive of Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA, will either save the indebted oil major - or strip it to the bone.Tapped by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who took power on Tuesday, Castello Branco had said in a June newspaper column he thought Petrobras - as the company is known - should be privatized, a hardcore proposal even in an administration packed with free market advocates.He has walked back on that idea since being named as CEO in November, saying such a move is not in his mandate…
Castello Branco Named Petrobras CEO
Brazil's incoming far-right government on Monday tapped a University of Chicago-trained economist with experience in the oil sector to be the chief executive of state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA, amid a debate over privatization of the company's assets.The nomination of Roberto Castello Branco is the latest in a string of business-friendly appointments by President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, who takes office on Jan. 1.Castello Branco, a member of Petrobras's board until 2016, has also held executive positions at Brazil's central bank and at iron ore miner Vale SA.He will take over from Ivan Monteiro…
Petrobras Prepays $975 Mln Worth of Bank Debt
Brazilian Petróleo Brasileiro SA has settled three bank loans worth a total of $975 million that were due 2022, the state-controlled oil company said in a securities filing on Monday.Petrobras, as the company is known, paid $325 million to Bank of America Corp, $150 million to Banco Safra SA and $500 million to Banco MUFG Brasil S.A., the filing said.(Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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 Secures $606 mln Credit Line from Banco do Brasil
Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA said on Monday it has hired a 2 billion real ($606 million) credit line from state lender Banco do Brasil SA expiring in Feb. 2023. In a securities filing, Petrobras, as the company is known, said the newly-contracted credit line will cost 0.40 percent a year. Reporting by Bruno Federowski
Former CEO of Brazil's Petrobras Charged with Corruption
Brazilian prosecutors on Tuesday charged the former chief executive officer of state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro with corruption, alleging he used his position to take bribes from construction firm Odebrecht. Aldemir Bendine served as CEO of Petrobras, as the company is known, between 2015 and 2016, and was brought in to clean up the firm after its central role in Brazil's massive political graft scandal. Bendine, who also led state-owned lender Banco do Brasil SA from 2009 to 2015, was arrested late last month and remained in jail. His legal team did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Brazil's Previ to sell CPFL stake to China's State Grid
Brazil's largest pension fund Previ decided to sell its stake in power company CPFL Energia SA to China's utility State Grid Corp, according to a CPFL securities filing on Friday. State Grid had announced in July an agreement to buy a controlling stake at CPFL from Brazilian engineering conglomerate Camargo Correa. The deal was approved by Brazilian antitrust body Cade on Thursday, opening the way for other shareholders to exercise their right to also sell their stakes in the company. Previ, the pension fund of state-controlled bank Banco do Brasil SA, told Reuters last week that it was willing to exercise the right to sell its shares to State Grid.
Petrobras Tests Investor Sentiment with $6.75 Bln Bond Sale
State-controlled Petróleo Brasileiro SA raised $6.75 billion on Tuesday through a sale of five- and 10-year dollar-denominated bonds, in a closely watched return to global capital markets after the suspension of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. The bond sale is the first by any Brazilian company since last June and the first to test investor sentiment toward Brazil since Rousseff was removed from office last week to face an impeachment trial. Petrobras, as the company is known, also announced a plan to repurchase up to $3 billion of bonds maturing in 2018 and debt bearing interest of 8.375 percent.
Banco do Brasil Expects Sete Brasil Finance Deal by Year-end
Banco do Brasil SA expects to reach an agreement, along with other creditors, with troubled Brazilian offshore drillship builder and leaser Sete Brasil over its outstanding debts by the end of the year, the bank's chief executive said on Monday. State-led Banco do Brasil, which plans to restart a loan program for suppliers of state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA this week, also aims to help finance companies bidding for hydroelectric concessions at an auction in November, CEO Alexandre Abreu said. (Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Jeb Blount)
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.
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.
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.
Brazil's State Banks Most Exposed to Petrobras Scandal
Brazilian state-controlled banks are most at risk over loans to oil producer Petróleo Brasileiro SA and third-party contractors in the oil services and construction industries, Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday. An ongoing investigation into alleged corruption at Petrobras, as the state-run firm is known, triggered concerns about banks with exposure to companies involved in the scandal, Moody's analysts led by Celina Vansetti said in a report. State-run banks, in particular, would be compelled by the Brazilian government to help Petrobras and suppliers cope with restricted access to credit in the wake of the scandal, Vansetti said.
Braskem CEO: Petrobras Crisis Threatens Production
Braskem SA, Latin America's largest petrochemical company, may halt production at most of its plants in March if it fails to extend a supply agreement with oil company and key shareholder Petrobras, Braskem's CEO said in a newspaper interview on Monday. Braskem's plants in Sao Paulo, Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul are dependent on naphtha supply and may need to interrupt production, said CEO Carlos Fadigas. The move would be a potentially heavy blow to Brazil's beleaguered economy at a time when it is being undermined in part by a corruption scandal at state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known.
Brazil Minister Does Not See Bendine as Temporary Petrobras CEO
Brazil's Communications Minister Ricardo Berzoini said on Friday he did not believe Aldemir Bendine would be chief executive of state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA on a temporary basis. Government sources on Friday said Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff had tapped Bendine, the CEO of state-run Banco do Brasil SA, to steer the oil company through a massive corruption scandal. Some analysts have speculated he would hold the job for only a short time until a more market-friendly figure can be found. Reporting by Cesar Bianconi
Petrobras Taps Bendine as New CEO
Brazil's Petrobras chose current Banco do Brasil SA Chief Executive Aldemir Bendine as its new CEO on Friday, government sources said, as the embattled state-run oil company tries to regroup following the sudden resignation of nearly all of its senior managers amid a corruption scandal. The choice may disappoint investors who had hoped for a more market-friendly name to fill the post. Bendine, who has led the state-run bank since 2009 and maintains close links to the ruling Workers' Party, will replace Maria das Graças Foster, according to three government sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
