Cosan hires BTG Pactual and evaluates sale of Rumo stake
A few days after the dispute between SLC Agrícola and Bom Futuro over the purchase of a block of land from Radar, Cosan informed the market that it is evaluating alternatives for its stake in Rumo, as part of the strategy to reduce financial leverage.
In a statement released this Monday (29), the company stated that it hired BTG Pactual as a financial advisor to analyze possible operations involving its stake in the railway concessionaire. The company highlighted, however, that discussions are still at an early stage and that there has been no decision taken on a possible transaction nor definition of the format or conditions of the business.
The announcement reinforces the holding's asset recycling movement, which began in recent weeks with the sale of part of Radar's agricultural properties, a company controlled jointly with the American management company Nuveen.
On the 17th, Cosan reported the sale of a block of 41.2 thousand hectares of agricultural land in Mato Grosso for R$1.85 billion. The holding company's economic participation in the operation corresponds to R$586 million, resources allocated to the deleveraging process and simplification of the company's portfolio.
The negotiation gained new contours on Friday (26), when SLC Agrícola and Bom Futuro announced that they had exercised the right of preference over the same rural properties, both claiming to have contractual priority for the acquisition of the so-called "Bloco Mato Grosso".
The asset covers approximately 41.2 thousand hectares, of which approximately 28.8 thousand hectares are arable. SLC stated that it already operates 17.6 thousand hectares of the area, while Bom Futuro maintained that it also has the right of preference to act as a lessee.
Although the dispute over who will definitively own the land still depends on the resolution of preemptive rights, the sale represents another step by Cosan in its strategy of strengthening its capital structure.
In this Monday's statement, Cosan hired BTG Pactual as a financial advisor to evaluate alternatives for selling its 20.33% stake and reiterated that any operation involving Rumo remains only in the preliminary study and negotiation phase, with no guarantee of completion.
Why is the dollar important for Brazilian agriculture?
Source: CNN