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Petrobras wants to have more control over the appointment of Braskem directors and board members, say sources

Petrobras wants to have more control over the appointment of Braskem directors and board members, say sources

Three sources at Brazil's state-owned oil company said that Petrobras is looking to change the shareholders agreement of Braskem to give it more influence over the decisions made by the petrochemical company.

Petrobras holds a 47% stake with voting rights in the petrochemical firm, but it has only appointed four out of eleven board members, and one out of seven directors, which the sources consider to be a small number.

A fund controlled by Nelson Tanure, a businessman and Braskem's major shareholder Novonor, received a nonbinding proposal last week to take control of the biggest petrochemical firm in Latin America.

Since years, Novonor has tried to sell its Braskem stake but failed to achieve a deal.

Petrobras would like to get a similar agreement to Eletrobras where they increased the number seats in the board and expanded their influence.

Petrobras would have the right to purchase Novonor's share in the event of sale. However, the sources claim that Petrobras is not interested in increasing its voting stake.

Petrobras instead wants to have a stronger voice in the management of the petrochemical firm, regardless of which partner is controlling, according to the sources.

Magda Chambriard, Petrobras' CEO, said that Tanure’s proposal was a step in the right directions on Monday.

Chambriard said that Petrobras will support whatever solution is found.

Braskem and Petrobras didn't immediately respond to comments. (Reporting and translation by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Editing and editing by Rod Nickel).

(source: Reuters)