prodchem
Aug 28, 2026
Novonor's exit from Braskem stands out because the company did not simply identify a buyer and complete a transaction in one conventional sale process. The Braskem stake had been the subject of potential transactions and strategic discussions for years as Novonor worked through its own financial restructuring. Braskem's filings show that Novonor was already discussing a possible transaction with interested parties in November 2022, with no binding offer or defined structure at that stage.
The prolonged process reflected the complexity of selling a controlling position in one of Brazil's largest petrochemical companies. Earlier efforts included discussions around potential share offerings, while Novonor continued evaluating alternatives for its Braskem holdings. A planned 2022 preferred-share offering involving Novonor and Petrobras was ultimately cancelled, illustrating how difficult it was to turn an intended exit into an executable transaction.
The process moved decisively in December 2025, when Novonor and IG4-advised funds entered into agreements connected with the acquisition of creditor claims and began an exclusive process for a potential Braskem transaction. In April 2026, Novonor and IG4's Shine funds signed a judicial share purchase agreement covering approximately 50.1% of Braskem's voting shares and 34.3% of total capital.
Even after the transaction was agreed, completion was not immediate. Brazil's antitrust regulator CADE approved the deal without restrictions in March 2026, while Petrobras also had to decide whether to exercise its preemptive and tag-along rights. Petrobras ultimately chose not to exercise those rights in February, clearing an important obstacle to Novonor's exit.
The final transfer closed on June 3, 2026, when IG4's Shine Fund acquired 50.11% of Braskem's common shares and 13.69% of its preferred shares from Novonor. Following the transaction, Novonor ceased to control Braskem and was left with approximately 4% of total capital, held entirely through non-voting preferred shares. Braskem subsequently became jointly controlled by IG4 and Petrobras.
Measured from Novonor's November 2022 disclosure that it was exploring a transaction to the June 2026 completion, the process stretched across roughly three and a half years. That is unusually long for a major corporate divestiture, but the comparison needs context: Novonor was itself under judicial reorganization, Braskem had multiple strategic shareholders, and the transaction involved creditor claims, court processes, regulatory approvals and Petrobras' rights. The prolonged timeline therefore says as much about the complexity of the asset and seller as it does about the broader speed of corporate M&A.
Novonor's Braskem exit is best viewed as a special-situations divestiture rather than a standard corporate sale. The long period of discussions, abandoned or considered alternatives and eventual IG4 transaction demonstrates how financial distress, shareholder structures and regulatory requirements can dramatically extend an industrial asset sale. For chemical-sector investors, the case is a useful benchmark for understanding why distressed petrochemical assets can remain in ownership limbo for years before a workable buyer and transaction structure emerge.
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