Petrobras plans world's largest stock sale

Brazilian state oil company Petrobras plans to sell as much as $64.5 billion US in new stock as part of a massive offer that includes an oil-for-shares swap agreement with the government.

The company will offer 1.59 billion new preferred shares and 2.17 billion new common shares, Petrobras said in a statement published in Valor Economico newspaper.
 
At Thursday's closing price for the stocks, the company would raise 67.8 billion reais ($39.2 billion US) from the sale of common shares and another 43.8 billion reais from the preferred shares, making it one of the world's largest ever stock offerings.
 
Petrobras will begin bookbuilding on Sept. 3 and expects to price the share sale on Sept. 23, the statement said, advancing the company's plan to raise funds required to finance its offshore oil exploration program.
 
Petrobras' preferred shares, its most widely traded class of stock, closed at 27.60 reais on Thursday while common shares closed at 31.24 reais.
 
Petrobras and the government on Wednesday agreed on conditions for a $43-billion US swap that will give Petrobras development rights to 5 billion barrels of offshore oil in exchange for part of the stock to be issued.
 
The plan has become the financial cornerstone of the company's $224-billion five-year investment plan meant to turn Brazil into a major oil exporter.