Key Facts
—The escalation. On 7 July Brava told the market that Ecopetrol’s appeal has gone to the full board of Brazil’s securities regulator. The offer stays frozen.
—The two halves. Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) agreed in April to buy 26% of Brava (B3: BRAV3) privately, then launched a public offer for 116,110,717 shares at R$23.00 ($4.47) to reach 51%.
—The size. The public leg alone is worth about R$2.67bn ($519m), roughly a quarter of the company.
—The objection. Regulator staff hold that the private contracts and the public offer are one indivisible control transaction, which triggers equal treatment.
