Brazil’s Raizen Sells Argentina Business for $1.42bn to Cut Debt

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Brazil · Business

Key Facts

—The deal: Raízen, a joint venture of Shell and Brazil’s Cosan, is selling its Argentina business for $1.42bn.

—The buyer: Swiss commodities trader Mercuria, expanding its downstream footprint in South America.

—The assets: A Buenos Aires refinery and a network of around 600 service stations, bought from Shell in 2018.

—The reason: Proceeds will go toward managing a debt load strained by heavy spending, bad weather and cane-field fires.

—The context: The sale is part of a wider Cosan-group push to reduce leverage and simplify its portfolio.

One of Brazil’s biggest energy groups is shedding a foreign operation it built less than a decade ago, a sign of how hard debt and a punishing harvest have pressed on the business.

Raízen, the fuel and sugar-ethanol joint venture between Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell and Brazilian conglomerate Cosan, is selling its Argentine operations to the Swiss commodities trader Mercuria for $1.42bn, the company said. The divestment marks a retreat from a market Raízen entered in 2018, when it bought Shell’s downstream business in Argentina for about $950m, and reflects mounting pressure on the group to shore up its finances.

Why Raízen is selling the Argentina business

Raízen has been searching for ways to ease a debt burden swollen by high capital spending and by a difficult stretch for its core sugarcane operations, where adverse weather and wildfires hurt crops. The company said the net proceeds from the Argentine sale will be used to manage its capital structure, language that underscores deleveraging as the central motive rather than any strategic expansion. The assets changing hands include a refinery in the Buenos Aires area and a retail network of roughly 600 service stations, a sizeable downstream presence that Mercuria gains as it builds out its physical fuel operations in the region.

Part of a wider Cosan retrenchment

The transaction fits a broader pattern across the Cosan group, which has spent the past year cutting debt and trimming holdings. Cosan has been redeeming bonds early and exploring share sales in other parts of its empire, including its gas-distribution arm, as part of what it describes as a liability-management drive aimed at restoring financial flexibility. For Raízen specifically, retreating from Argentina removes exposure to a notoriously volatile economy, even as it gives up a stream of fuel-retailing revenue. The decision points to a company prioritizing balance-sheet repair over geographic reach.

Live Market IntelligenceBrazil — Live Market BoardInside: market breadth, the sector heatmap, currencies & rates, the Latin America scoreboard and the full instrument board.

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Rio Times · Live Ticker Intelligence

Raízen

RAIZ4 · B3 São Paulo

Share price · live

R$0.39

▲ +2.63% today

Peers & comparators

CSAN3 · Cosan

▼ -7.73%

PETR4 · Petrobras

▼ -0.77%

UGPA3

▼ -3.07%

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Data: EODHD Fundamentals & live feed · The Rio Times Ticker Intelligence

Brazil — Live Market Board

B3 · São Paulo

Jun 4, 2026 · 14:18

Ibovespa · benchmark

170,331

-2.22%

L 170,008day rangeH 174,192

+23.84% over 12 months

Market breadth · 15 names

13% advancing

2 ▲ advancing13 declining ▼

Currencies, rates & key inputs

USD / BRL

5.06

-0.03%

EUR / BRL

5.89

+0.97%

Selic rate

14.50%

·

Brent crude

94.70

-3.18%

Iron ore

161.91

·

Sector heatmap · average move today

Materials

+1.95%

SUZB3

Energy

+0.11%

PETR4, PRIO3

Industrials

-1.92%

WEGE3, RENT3

Consumer Staples

-2.31%

ABEV3

Financials

-2.69%

ITUB4, BBDC4, BBAS3, B3SA3

Mining

-4.07%

VALE3, CSNA3, GGBR4

Utilities

-4.42%

ENEV3

Consumer Disc.

-8.48%

AZZA3

Latin America scoreboard

IndexLastTodayStrength

IbovespaBrazil

170,331

-2.22%

S&P/BMV IPCMexico

67,265

-1.50%

S&P IPSAChile

10,425

+0.62%

S&P MERVALArgentina

3,192,725

+0.90%

MSCI COLCAPColombia

2,238.99

-1.13%

BVL S&P PerúPeru

34,836.62

+0.71%

Full instrument board

Instrument

Last

Change

YoY

Prev.

High

Low

Volume

IBOV

170,331

-2.22%

+23.84%

174,198

174,192

170,008

—

USD/BRL

5.06

-0.03%

-10.18%

5.07

5.08

5.03

—

SELIC

14.50%

—

—

—

—

—

PETR4

41.25

-0.77%

+36.68%

41.57

41.87

41.25

42,592,300

VALE3

81.79

-3.78%

+55.70%

85.00

83.79

81.79

19,160,100

ITUB4

38.72

-2.12%

+7.70%

39.56

39.30

38.64

40,828,700

BBDC4

17.37

-2.14%

+5.27%

17.75

17.62

17.31

30,093,300

BBAS3

19.53

-1.81%

-15.01%

19.89

19.87

19.46

26,803,500

B3SA3

15.52

-4.67%

+9.45%

16.28

16.16

15.46

41,244,500

ABEV3

16.07

-2.31%

+14.70%

16.45

16.32

16.05

24,072,100

WEGE3

41.78

-0.52%

+0.19%

42.00

42.45

41.29

6,570,300

PRIO3

62.59

+0.98%

+52.84%

61.98

63.30

61.66

8,898,500

SUZB3

41.22

+1.95%

-18.21%

40.43

41.25

40.18

6,497,500

RENT3

40.44

-3.32%

-6.22%

41.83

41.32

40.18

7,370,100

AZZA3

17.38

-8.48%

-61.27%

18.99

18.64

17.24

4,221,800

CSNA3

6.68

-6.31%

-20.29%

7.13

6.98

6.53

25,238,100

GGBR4

24.13

-2.11%

+48.58%

24.65

24.24

23.80

13,008,100

ENEV3

24.23

-4.42%

+71.84%

25.35

25.07

24.21

18,055,400

Largest moves today

AZZA3

17.38

-8.48%

CSNA3

6.68

-6.31%

B3SA3

15.52

-4.67%

ENEV3

24.23

-4.42%

VALE3

81.79

-3.78%

RENT3

40.44

-3.32%

ABEV3

16.07

-2.31%

IBOV

170,331

-2.22%

The session read

The Ibovespa eased 2.22%, with breadth negative — 2 of 15 names higher. Materials led, while Consumer Disc. lagged.

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What it means for the region’s fuel market

For Argentina, the deal hands a major retail and refining footprint to a global trading house at a moment when the country is overhauling its energy sector under President Javier Milei. Mercuria’s arrival as an operator, rather than just a trader, signals continued foreign appetite for Argentine downstream assets despite the economy’s instability. For Brazil’s Raízen, the sale is one of the larger disposals in a deleveraging campaign that investors will watch closely, given the company’s standing as one of the country’s biggest energy players and a bellwether for the Cosan group’s recovery. Whether it is enough to decisively relieve the debt strain will depend on what further steps follow.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Raízen selling?

Its Argentina business, including a Buenos Aires-area refinery and about 600 service stations, to Swiss trader Mercuria for $1.42bn.

Why is Raízen selling?

To manage a debt load strained by high capital spending and a tough stretch for its sugarcane operations hit by weather and fires.

Who owns Raízen?

It is a joint venture between Shell and the Brazilian conglomerate Cosan, active in fuel distribution and sugar-ethanol.

When did Raízen enter Argentina?

In 2018, when it bought Shell’s downstream business there for about $950m, the assets it is now selling for $1.42bn.