By Brazil Stock Guide – Raízen S.A. (B3: RAIZ4) has agreed to sell its Continental mill in Colômbia, São Paulo, to Grupo Colorado for R$750 million, marking another step in its ongoing portfolio optimization strategy. The transaction includes the plant’s sugarcane supply contracts and related agricultural assets, with payment to be made in cash upon closing, subject to customary adjustments.
The Continental unit has a crushing capacity of around 2 million tons per harvest, making it one of the smaller operations within Raízen’s network. The sale reflects the company’s focus on simplifying its agroindustrial base and improving returns by divesting non-core or lower-efficiency assets. Once this and other announced transactions are completed, Raízen will operate 24 mills with a combined capacity of 73 million tons per crop year.
Grupo Colorado, the buyer, already operates sugar and ethanol assets in São Paulo and Paraná states. The acquisition strengthens its regional presence and expands processing capacity in one of Brazil’s key cane-growing areas. The deal still requires approval from CADE, Brazil’s antitrust authority, before closing.
Raízen’s CFO and Investor Relations Officer Rafael Bergman said the transaction supports the company’s “strategy of efficiency capture and profitability enhancement” across its integrated energy platform. The sale follows a series of divestments and rationalizations aimed at aligning Raízen’s sugar, ethanol, and bioenergy operations with higher-margin assets.
Debt and capitalization pressure
The divestment also comes at a time when Raízen faces rising leverage and a declining credit outlook. The company’s high debt load — a legacy of recent expansion cycles and volatile ethanol prices — has drawn attention from rating agencies. Its controlling shareholders, Cosan and Shell, have been studying capitalization alternatives to strengthen the balance sheet and stabilize cash generation.
Market sources point to an ongoing negotiation that could bring BTG Pactual and Perfin, now significant shareholders in Cosan alongside Rubens Ometto, into a broader restructuring effort that may include direct participation in Raízen’s recapitalization plan. The move, if confirmed, would signal a coordinated strategy to restore investor confidence and reposition one of Brazil’s largest bioenergy groups for the next investment cycle.