Shell must divest its aviation fuel assets in Brazil

Brazil’s anti-trust regulator, the Council for Economic Defence (CADE), has ruled that the local subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell must sell part of the aviation fuel assets acquired from Brazilian group Cosan almost two years ago. In May 2009, Shell acquired Cosan’s aviation fuel business for US$75 million. CADE said that Shell has 90 days to sell these assets. Shell, however, will be allowed to maintain the unit’s client portfolio. Last year, Shell and Cosan entered a JV, merging their ethanol and fuel distribution operations in Brazil. The transaction is estimated at US$12 billion. The JV will create the third largest fuel distributor in the country. (February 9,2011)