By Brazil Stock Guide – Braskem S.A. (B3: BRKM5) closed trading on September 29 valued at R$5.69 billion (US$1.03 billion), its lowest level in 16 years. The figure mirrors the company’s 2009 market cap and reflects the destruction of about R$48.2 billion (US$8.7 billion) since its all-time high in 2021, according to consultancy Elos Ayta.
The collapse in market value of Latin America’s largest petrochemical group underscores its financial fragility and reignites doubts over its future. Losses accelerated in recent months: in September alone, Braskem shed R$2.05 billion (US$370 million) in market cap. Year-to-date, the decline amounts to R$3.77 billion (US$680 million). At its peak in September 2021, the company was worth R$53.8 billion (US$9.7 billion).
Braskem has hired Lazard, along with law firms Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and E. Munhoz Advogados, to evaluate alternatives for a potential financial restructuring. Local media have reported that the company may seek court protection from creditors through a judicial recovery filing while exploring asset sales to shore up liquidity.
Braskem’s trajectory reflects how tight pricing cycles, rising debt and mismanagement of environmental liabilities—such as the Alagoas case—can erode value in just a few years. The shrinking of Braskem, controlled by Novonor (formerly Odebrecht, the company at the heart of Brazil’s Lava Jato probe), reinforces perceptions of restructuring risk with ripple effects for creditors and the chemical sector.
A transfer of control is also on the table. Novonor’s debts are held by creditor banks including Itaú Unibanco (B3: ITUB4; NYSE: ITUB), Banco Bradesco (B3: BBDC4; NYSE: BBD), Banco do Brasil (B3: BBAS3; NYSE: BDORY), Santander Brasil (B3: SANB11; NYSE: BSBR) and development lender BNDES. These lenders are negotiating with private equity group IG4 Capital to transfer claims tied to Novonor’s 38.3% stake in Braskem, pledged as collateral.
Back in 2009, Braskem announced its merger with Quattor, cementing its position as Brazil’s largest petrochemical producer. Sixteen years later, the company’s market cap has returned to that very level, underscoring one of the sharpest value destructions in the history of the B3.