Japanese Consortium Pulls Out of Brazilian Shipyard Ecovix
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Friday, January 8, 2016
A consortium of Japanese shipyards decided to sell its stake of Ecovix, which controls the Rio Grande Shipyard, reports Reuters.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, four other shipbuilders said in October 2013 acquired 30% of Ecovix-Engevix Construcoes Oceanicas in a deal reportedly worth some 30 billion yen (about $305 million at the time).
In addition to MHI, the Japanese group includes Mitsubishi Co and the Imabari, Namura and Oshima Shipbuilding companies. Mitsubishi Heavy owns about half of the stake, bought through a special-purpose company.
The buyer of the slice will be the Jackson Empreendimentos, parent company of Engevix contractor and owner of 70% of Ecovix. Jackson owns the remaining 70 percent of Ecovix, the controller of Estaleiro Rio Grande (ERG) shipyard in the Brazilian city of Rio Grande.
The Rio Grande shipyard, located in Rio Grande do Sul had contracts to build eight drilling rigs for Petrobras and drilling rigs for the company Sete Brazil, but both are involved in the complaints of Operation Wash Jet and undergo financial difficulties . The very Engevix is also under investigation in that operation and has had two prisoners partners.