RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian development bank BNDES has closed out its stake in miner Vale, selling 188.5-million shares and raising around 11-billion reais ($2-billion), the bank confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.
The sale of the 3.6% stake in the miner, carried out by the bank's equity arm BNDESPar, comes as BNDES seeks to exit its position in various companies as part of a broader government divestment plan. In November, a similar sale of Vale stock raised 2.54-billion reais.
"The bank took advantage of a favorable moment," one source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters earlier. A second source said the sales took place between November and last week.
Business news website Brazil Journal first reported the sales late on Monday.
The sources said that BNDES was still eager to reduce its holdings in state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro, but those plans had been shelved after the stock plummeted on President Jair Bolsonaro's move to appoint a new chief executive.
Petrobras shares plunged 22% on Monday, wiping out 71-billion reais ($13-billion) in market value.