Cosan’s Moove Moves Fast in US, Makes $479 Million Acquisition

PetroChoice is a distributor of Mobil branded lubricants and has assets in 25 US states.

In the most decisive step to date of its internationalization plan, Moove, a company linked to Cosan and which operates in the lubricants sector, closed the purchase of PetroChoice, one of the main distributors in the United States, for US$ 479 million.

According to the material fact released this Monday, May 23, PetroChoice is a distributor and marketer of Mobil branded lubricants and proprietary brands. It distributes around 240 million liters of lubricants annually and has assets in 25 American states, including two lubricant mixing plants and more than 50 distribution centers.

The volume distributed by PetroChoice represents a significant scale gain for Moove, which last year recorded a total sales volume of 388.7 million cubic meters of lubricants.

With net revenue of R$6.1 billion last year, representing 24.5% of Cosan’s consolidated results, Moove is expected to add 50% to its revenue from the acquisition, said Filipe Affonso Ferreira, the company’s CEO, in interview to Reuters.

The acquisition also expands Moove’s US operations, currently focused on distributing Mobil lubricants in metropolitan New York and New Jersey.

Moove is controlled by Cosan and has the private equity fund CVC Capital Partners as a strategic shareholder. It operates globally in the production and distribution of Mobil, Comma and professional brands. In addition to the United States, Moove has operations in Argentina, Portugal, Spain, France and the United Kingdom.

In Brazil, Moove operates in the production and distribution of Mobil branded lubricants and manages the franchise network specializing in Zip Lube automotive services.

Moove’s international expansion is one of Cosan’s goals. The company started its activities abroad in 2011, with the purchase of exclusive distribution rights for Mobil lubricants in Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia.

In 2012, it acquired the Comma brand operations in England, going on to produce, sell and distribute lubricants to more than 40 countries in Europe and Asia. In 2017, Moove started distributing Mobil to England and Scotland with the acquisition of the WP Group operations, and in 2018 it conquered the ExxonMobil operation in Argentina and maintained the expansion plan with the acquisition of Lubrigrupo (Portugal) and TTA ( France).

Ferreira told investors last year that the company wants to consolidate itself as a multinational lubricants company in the coming years, seeking to grow in the Americas and Europe.

Last year, Moove had its name involved in conversations about the initial public offering of shares last year, as part of the corporate reorganization promoted in the company of businessman Rubens Ometto, as was the case with Raízen. However, there is no forecast of when the offer may occur.

Cosan’s shares closed the day up 3.81%, at R$19.33. In the year, they accumulate a fall of 8.7% and the market value totals R$ 34.8 billion.

Source: Neofeed