Brazil's Petrobras ends talks to sell Refap refinery in divestiture plan
Brazil's Petrobras halted talks with Brazilian conglomerate Ultrapar on the sale of the state-run oil company's Refap refinery, part of its program to sell eight plants.
Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, said it would relaunch the process of selling Refap in the future but did not provide a date.
"Despite the efforts made by both companies in this process, certain critical conditions were not met for an agreement," Petrobras said in a securities filing, adding there would be no penalties for either party.
Credit Suisse analysts said the ending of the process was negative for Petrobras, as failing to divest refineries increased the downstream price risk.
"(It is) marginally negative for Ultrapar as it loses that potential catalyst in the case, but also reduces risk," Credit Suisse added in a research note.
Petrobras had announced in January that Ultrapar was leading the talks to acquire the asset, but three people close to the deal told Reuters at the time that the state-run firm was trying to push the conglomerate to boost its offer.
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