Goldman Sachs invests $400mi in Brazil ethanol

US investment bank
Goldman Sachs is set to
invest 400 million reais
(€156 million) in Brazil’s
second largest sugar
and ethanol producer
Santelisa Vale.
Santelisa Vale will process 18
million tonnes of sugarcane this
year. The company also has
plans for six new sugar mills,
with a capacity to crush 2.5
million tonnes of cane each – a
total of 15 million tonnes.
It also has a 72% stake in
Crystalsev, a company involved
in the commercialisation of
sugar, ethanol, and electricity,
with investment in a specialised
ethanol terminal.
‘Goldman Sachs brings the
necessary expertise for us to
leverage our growth plans in
the coming years,’ Santelisa
Vale, CEO Anselmo Lopes
Rodrigues, says.
Santelisa Vale has five mills
in Brazil. Four of the new mills
will be built in partnership with
private equity funds in
Companhia Nacional de
Açúcar e Àlcool (CNAA), three
of which will be located in
Minas Gerais and one in
Goiás. The other two new
mills are Santa Vitória (in
Minas Gerais), in which the
company holds a 72% stake,
and Tropical (in Goiás), with a
50% stake.