ANTT authorizes CVRD, CSN rail asset swap

Brazil's national land transport regulator ANTT has authorized a rail asset swap between mining and logistics giant CVRD and flat steelmaker CSN, the transport ministry reported. The agreement involves the acquisition by CVRD of CSN's 11.95% stake in rail concessionaire Ferrovia Centro-Atlantica (FCA), and CVRD offloading its 30% stake in rail concessionaire Companhia Ferroviaria do Nordeste (CFN) to both CSN and local equity fund Taquari, both of which already have 30% stakes in CFN, while employees and other shareholders hold the remainder. FCA's other shareholders are KRJ Participacoes, VALIA-Fundacao Vale do Rio Doce de Seguridade Social Carmo Participacoes, CPP Participacoes and Transger. FCA's 7,080km of lines cover the states of Sergipe, Bahia, Goias, Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and the Federal District, while CFN's 4,500km of lines cover the states of Maranhao, Piaui, Ceara, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraiba, Pernambuco and Alagoas. In related news, the ANTT also authorized a 1bn reais (US$345mn) share capital increase in FCA to be undertaken by shareholders. Guilherme Laager, executive director of CVRD's logistics division, welcomed the news when contacted by BNamericas, explaining that this will allow some 400mn reais to be invested in FCA. The investment will be carried out over the next five years and should increase capacity by 44% from the 8.6 billion TKUs transported last year. For its part, CSN plans to pump 200mn reais into CFN.