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BP to buy out Bunge's stake in Brazilian biofuels JV in $1.4 bln deal

BP has accepted purchase grain trader Bunge's 50% stake in Brazilian sugar and ethanol joint venture BP Bunge Bioenergia for $1.4 billion in a. bet on growing demand for lowcarbon biofuels.

Following the completion of the offer, expected by end-2024,. BP will take full ownership of Bioenergia which has production. capability of around 50,000 barrels a day of ethanol equivalent. from sugarcane.

BP will consolidate Bioenergia's financial obligation and lease responsibilities. of $1.2 billion, it said, implying it will pay an overall of. $ 800 million to Bunge, according to estimations.

The acquisition comes amidst growing investor issue over. BP's strategy after scores company S&P Global previously this month. revised down BP's credit outlook, mentioning slower than anticipated. debt decrease.

BP said the acquisition is anticipated to fulfill its returns. threshold for bioenergy of more than 15% and will be within its. existing yearly spending structure of around $16 billion.

BP Bunge Bioenergia is one of the biggest sugar and ethanol. operations in Brazil. It runs 11 mills in 5 states, with. capacity to procedure 32 million metric lots of sugarcane per. season. Beyond ethanol, it produces more than 1 million tons of. sugar annually.

Bunge has been trying to offer its sugar and ethanol. assets in Brazil for some years.

It had talks

with possible purchasers of its stake in the JV in 2022, with. no deal.

Later,

it was revealed

that BP would likely exercise its right of very first refusal. over any outside bid, and purchase Bunge out.

Bunge shares were up around 1% on Thursday, while BP. rose 0.8%.

Ethanol has actually been a challenging company in Brazil, with. business hardly making any cash, stated Willian Orzari, a. partner at consultancy FG/A.

He believes BP is looking at the long term with the. deal, perhaps looking for to guarantee materials of low-carbon. biofuels to produce sustainable air travel fuel (SAF).

Sugarcane-based ethanol has a low carbon footprint. Numerous business in the country have actually acquired accreditation to. supply SAF.

BP also stated on Thursday it is scaling back prepare for. the development of brand-new biofuels jobs.

The company is stopping briefly two biofuel tasks at its Lingen. refinery in Germany and its Cherry Point refinery in the U.S. state of Washington. It is examining three other tasks.

Taken together, these changes can enable us to deliver the. development and returns we expect from biofuels, however in an easier,. more focused way. This is fully in line with BP's top priorities of. driving focus into business and growing investor. returns, BP's head of clients and products Emma Delaney said.

(source: Reuters)