Esso brand to disappear in Brazil  

The new structure of Brazil’s largest sugar and ethanol producer Cosan, created after the recently concluded joint venture with Shell International Petroleum Co. Ltd., will lead to the gradual disappearance of the Esso brand, said Cosan’s Board Chairman Rubens Ometto. Cosan acquired Exxon’s assets in Brazil in 2008, entering into the distribution sector through the Esso brand. The joint venture with Shell will combine Cosan’s and Shell’s ethanol and fuel distribution operations in Brazil. “The Shell banner is likely to prevail in the new structure,” he said. Ometto declined to comment about the synergies to result from the venture with Shell. However, O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported that the JV should generate synergies of at least 1 billion reais ($577.24 million), according to executives familiar with the negotiations. The new business comprises Shell’s 4,500 fuel stations, as well as Cosan’s 23 ethanol mills. (August 30, 2010)