Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Suspends Sale of TAG to French Engie

By Richard Mann, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Justice Edson Fachin, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), suspended the sale of Transportadora Associada de Gás (TAG), a subsidiary of Petrobras, Brazil’s national oil and gas giant.

TAG is involved in the transportation and storage of natural gas. With a 4,500 kilometer network of gas pipelines, the company has the capacity for moving 74 million cubic meters per day.

Through negotiations, Petrobras had succeeded in selling 90 percent of TAG to the French group Engie, for US$8.6 billion. It is the biggest asset sale Petrobras has made in the divestment program instituted under the Bolsonaro administration.

According to Justice Fachin, the sale requires a bid process, per a previous ruling by fellow STF Justice Ricardo Lewandowski.

“The waiver of bidding only can be done for the sale of shares that do not involve the
loss of majority control of public companies, mixed public-private companies or
of their subsidiaries or controlled companies,” Fachin said.

The decision overturns a temporary injunction permitting the sale, granted by Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) in January.