Cosan buys Exxon lubricants assets in 3 countries

SAO PAULO - Brazil's largest sugar and ethanol group, Cosan Industria e Comercio SA , said Friday it has bought the lubricants business of Exxon Mobil Corp. /quotes/zigman/203975/quotes/nls/xom XOM -0.29% in Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The transaction represents an extension of Cosan's 2008 acquisition of nearly all Exxon Mobil's distribution and sales assets in Brazil. The companies didn't disclose the value of the transaction.


Cosan will continue producing Mobil brand lubricants at its Rio de Janeiro plant. The deal unveiled Friday will allow it to become the brand's exclusive distributor in the three additional countries and increase overall lubricant sales by roughly 5% a year, the firm said.

In the April-to-June quarter, Cosan's lubricant sales amounted to 230.1 million Brazilian reais ($129.3 million), up 14% from a year earlier.

"These three countries--Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay--logistically it makes a lot of sense for them to be served from Brazil since they don't have local production," Nelson Gomes, head of Cosan Lubricants, said in a phone interview. "We're making an acquisition in additional territory where we won't have to make investments in fixed assets."

Gomes said Cosan should begin operating in the three countries by the end of this year.

source: marketwatch