SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Petrobras is set to secure equal governance rights in polymers major Braskem under the terms of a binding proposal received from an IG4-backed fund seeking to acquire the stake held by Novonor, the Brazilian state-owned energy major said on Monday.
Petrobras said IG4 had committed in a letter dated 19 April to entering into a new shareholders’ agreement with Petrobras for Braskem that would require consensus among the polymers producer’s governance.
Braskem’s current capital structure has Novonor as the largest shareholder with a 38.8% stake, but 50.1% of voting capital. Petrobras owns 36.1%, with 47% of the voting rights.
“Petrobras also informs that… it received a binding letter through which FIP [IG4-backed investors] undertakes to enter into a new Braskem shareholders’ agreement with Petrobras, aiming to establish balanced governance of Braskem between FIP and Petrobras,” said the Brazilian energy major.
“Including: (1) the obligation to obtain consensus in all resolutions of the board of directors and general shareholders’ meeting, and (2) the right for each party to appoint an equal number of members to the board of directors and the executive board.”
The transaction is being carried out between Novonor’s controlling holding NSP Investimentos and credit rights investment fund FIDC and multistrategy equity fund FIP, both managed by Vortx Capital and advised by IG4.
Petrobras added it is now evaluating whether to exercise preemption or tag-along rights provided under the current Braskem shareholders’ agreement, following authorization granted by its board of directors in February.
Preemption rights allow existing shareholders to buy shares before outside parties, while tag-along rights entitle minority holders to join a majority sale on the same terms.
Operationally, Braskem – Latin America’s largest chemicals producer – continues to face pressure from global oversupply and high levels of imports heading into Brazil at more competitive prices.
Earlier in April, it confirmed it is exploring creditor protection measures as part of a broader capital restructuring. Investors’ eyes are now on a $100 million coupon payment Braskem is due to pay on its debt obligations in July.
In an interview with ICIS, the analyst for Brazilian chemicals at credit rating agency Moody’s said Braskem’s issues were multifaced and too complex for any quick fix.
“What we know is that so far they have been making the [coupon] payments, and there were rumors they were doing so to make it easier to refinance the instrument maturing in the first half of this year,” said Carolina Chimenti in the interview.
“Now, we are reading in those unconfirmed reports is that there may be liquidity pressure coming from the next coupon payment, so we’re going to have to wait and see. My view has not changed since our last interview: I don’t think Braskem is an easy case to resolve because there are too many moving pieces.”
Novonor, the former Odebrecht conglomerate, has been under judicial reorganization and spent the past decade seeking to divest its Braskem stake to reduce its debt burden.
Braskem is Brazil’s only polyethylene (PE) producer, but its output cannot meet domestic demand. It also produces polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), among others.
Overall, Brazil’s domestic chemicals demand is around 50% met by imports as output cannot meet demand in the country of 215 million people.
Post time: Apr-21-2026