Lisbon, Portugal, 23 July – the board of Brazilian state oil company Petrobras has put off its acquisition of a stake in Portuguese counterpart Galp Energia until after the Brazilian presidential elections, daily newspaper “I” reported in Lisbon.

The paper said that the decision had been communicated to Italy’s ENI, whose board had informed Galp that it was no longer available to sell its 33 percent stake in the Portuguese group.

On the Portuguese side it was expected that the transaction would be carried out this summer, making use of the enormous capital increase of Petrobras, of over 20 billion euros, which would help to finance the acquisition of around 25 percent of Galp, an operation estimated to cost some 2.5 billion euros at market prices.

The remainder of ENI’s stake, around 8 percent, would be in the hands of Portuguese state banking group Caixa Geral de Depósitos, which would then sell off the stake to Portuguese groups.

Brazil is due to choose its new President on 3 October, with a second round expected at the end of the month, with the electoral process concluded in November. (macauhub)