Investors hoping that BG will cash in on its Brazilian assets by selling a stake or perhaps floating the business could be in for a disappointment.
Last year there was some talk that the Chinese could be interested in buying part of BG's Brazilian business or even the whole company. But on an analyst and investor trip to the region this week, the gases group reportedly played down the idea of a restructuring of the business. Citigroup analyst Michael Alsford said:
We left Brazil feeling that neither the possible partial sell down by BG of its Brazilian assets nor a potential IPO of the Brazilian business to unlock the long-term value of this asset base are likely in the near-term.
According to Citi, BG said:
We are comfortable with current portfolio risk and have no immediate plans to do a partial IPO of BG Brazil.
Which seems pretty clear. Meanwhile Citi said that, while there were some major challenges facing the company in successfully delivering the Brazilian development projects, its meetings with management gave it more confidence these could be resolved.
BG shares are currently down 4.5p at 1521.5p.
