The president of Petrobras, Magda Chambriard, stated that Braskem may be “leaving money on the table” by not fully taking advantage of synergies with the state-owned company. According to her, the situation may change with the possible entry of the IG4 manager in the control of petrochemicals, a process that still depends on approval from Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense).
In a conference call with investors, Chambriard explained that the current corporate structure limits integration between the two companies. Today, Petrobras shares control of Braskem with Novonor, which holds administrative preponderance through the current shareholders’ agreement.
According to the executive, there is an agreement between Novonor and IG4 (which represents the company’s creditor banks) for a change in the petrochemical’s corporate structure. The understanding, however, still awaits Cade’s analysis.
Approval was expected on February 16, but the deadline was not met. According to Chambriard, the most recent information is that the decision should be delayed by around a month.
“This is an absolutely necessary step so that we can sign a new shareholder agreement with probably IG4 to better deal with the synergies between the Petrobras System and Braskem,” he stated.
According to the president of the state-owned company, the expectation is that the eventual corporate change will allow greater integration between the companies.
“Today what is important to say is that we understand that these synergies are not being taken advantage of as they should and, therefore, ultimately, Braskem leaves money on the table by not taking advantage of these synergies like a company the size of Petrobras, he said.
Chambriard stated that the expectation is that the process will progress in the coming days, allowing Petrobras and the new partner to negotiate a new shareholder agreement.
“We hope this will be resolved soon so that we can finally reach a new agreement with the new partner and maximize synergies between the Petrobras System and Braskem,” he stated.
Petrobras’ financial and investor relations director, Fernando Melgarejo, said that the company has already internally approved the decision not to exercise the right of preference in the operation, if the conditions previously analyzed are confirmed.
According to him, Petrobras also decided not to activate the so-called tag along, a mechanism that allows minority shareholders to sell their stake under the same conditions as a possible change of control.
“Within the governance bodies, we approved the non-activation of the right of preference. We will waive this right if all the conditions we analyzed are presented as expected”, he stated.
Melgarejo highlighted that petrochemicals continues to be considered strategic for Petrobras, mainly due to possible operational synergies between the two companies.
Still, he said that there are currently no discussions about possible financial contributions to Braskem.
“Today we cannot say whether there will be a contribution or not. That is not on the table. Whatever comes will be analyzed by Petrobras, always focusing on creating value for our shareholder”, he stated.
According to the executive, any decision will depend on the conclusion of the corporate process and Cade’s approval. Meanwhile, the current shareholders’ agreement between Petrobras and Novonor remains in force.
