SAO PAULO--Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista has signed a definitive
agreement to sell a majority stake in another of his key assets as
he advances a plan to shore up his heavily-indebted companies.
Mining company MMX Mineracao e Metalicos S.A. (MMXM3.BR), which
is controlled by Mr. Batista, said Monday that Abu Dhabi's Mubadala
Development Co., already a big investor in Mr. Batista's industrial
group, and Dutch investment fund Trafigura Group have agreed to pay
$400 million to buy a majority stake in a port in Itaguai, in the
south of Rio de Janeiro state.
It is the latest sale by Mr. Batista, who has seen his personal
wealth collapse as a result of the financial and operational
troubles faced by his group of companies. One of the richest men in
the world just over a year ago, with an estimated fortune of more
than $30 billion, he is now off the billionaires list
altogether.
Trafigura and Mubadala have agreed to buy 65% of MMX Porto
Sudeste Ltda, and MMX will retain the remaining 35% stake. The port
company will also take on 1.3 billion Brazilian reais in debts owed
by one of MMX's mining subsidiaries.
Construction of the port, known as Superporto Sudeste, began in
July 2010 and it is expected to begin operations in mid-2014, with
an initial capacity to handle 50 million tons of iron ore per
year.
The latest sale is evidence that some parts of Mr. Batista's
floundering empire still have some value. The group began to
unravel in mid-2012, after the flagship oil company, OGX Petroleo e
Gas Participacoes SA, began to show signs that it wouldn't be able
to live up to promises on oil production.
OGX has since said that it has halted development of most of its
oil fields. The firm is negotiating the restructuring of some $3.6
billion in bonds, having defaulted on a $45 million payment at the
beginning of October.
OGX's troubles shattered much of the confidence across much of
Mr. Batista's interlocking industrial group. Many of the companies
are capital-intensive start-ups that have yet to turn a profit.
Yet the former billionaire has been able to find some buyers. On
Monday, EIG Management Co. took control of another logistics
company, LLX Logistica SA, which is building a different port in
the north of Rio de Janeiro state, in exchange for an investment of
up to $560 million. In July, Mr. Batista sold a significant stake
in his electric-power-generation company MPX Energia SA to German
utility E.ON, although he continues to share control.
Mubadala itself has already invested around $1.5 billion in Mr.
Batista's holding company EBX.
Write to Matthew Cowley at matthew.cowley@wsj.com
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