Shell Sells Brazilian Comgas Stake

Anglo-Dutch major Shell has executed a roughly $380mn put option for its 16.8% interest in Brazil's largest gas distribution company Companhia de Gas de Sao Paulo (Comgas) with Cosan. Under the agreement, Shell will exchange its 21.8mn common shares for Cosan shares, plus cash. 

The transaction is expected to be completed by year-end, subject to customary closing conditions, regulatory approvals and certain consents. Shell’s share position in Cosan, which already owns 63.4% of Comgas, will be managed for value realisation over time, it said on October 10.

“This transaction allows us to focus our efforts in Brazil on areas where we see the most strategic value for Shell longer-term,” said Shell’s director of integrated gas and new energies, Maarten Wetselaar. “Brazil is an important country to Shell, and our portfolio of high quality assets and development opportunities positions us well for the future.”

Shell acquired its Comgas stake, along with a series of offshore licences, when it bought BG, which had invested in other infrastructure operators in Latin America too. Shell also has a stake in biofuel producer Raizen.

William Powell