Cosan Buys Exxon UK Lubricant Unit

Brazilian fuel distribution company Cosan has struck a deal to acquire Comma Oil & Chemical, a lubricants manufacturer in the UK owned by Esso Petroleum, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil. The deal is valued at less than $100m, and includes the ability of Comma to distribute Mobil brand products as well as to continue to supply products to Exxon companies, Cosan says. Comma produces and supplies lubricants and vehicle care products to Europe and Asia, a business that gives Cosan its first entry into Europe as a manufacturer. Cosan says it has no plans to downsize the business following the acquisition, but to operate it as it stands. Officials at Cosan decline to reveal the deal’s final price tag but note that it stands at less than $100m. “The company continues to seek businesses to acquire to diversify our portfolio and get a more stable Ebitda,” an investor relations official at Cosan says. Currently a full 37% of the company’s Ebitda comes from sugar and ethanol production, a quite volatile business, according to Cosan data, while 40% of it derives from the company’s fuel distribution business in Brazil. The lubricants division represents roughly 7% of Ebitda, with the rest coming from real estate and logistics businesses. The Brazilian company has lately been in an acquisitive mood. Just last week, Cosan announced the acquisition of a 5.7% stake in railroad operator America Latina Logistica for BRL896.5m ($525.7m).