MOSCOW (MRC) -- Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said on Tuesday a judge had ordered the suspension of the sale of petrochemical companies Suape and Citepe, reported Reuters.
Petrobras, as the company is commonly known, said in a securities filing it was taking all judicial measures to protect the interests of its shareholders.
The company announced the sale of the two units in late 2016 to Mexico's Alpek for USD385 million.
As MRC wrote before, Petrobras hired Brazilian bank Banco Bradesco SA as a financial adviser and started to pitch the sale of Braskem to foreign investors. Petrobras owns a 36% stake in Braskem, Latin America's largest petrochemical producer. The sale would help Petrobras meet its target of selling USD15.1 billion worth of assets in 2015-16, a key part of its plan to cut debt as oil prices plunge to 12-year lows.
Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Petrobras is an integrated energy firm. Petrobras' activities include exploration, exploitation and production of oil from reservoir wells, shale and other rocks as well as refining, processing, trade and transport of oil and oil products, natural gas and other fluid hydrocarbons, in addition to other energy-related activities.
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