Raizen expands reach in Brazil fuel distribution
SAO PAULO, April 2 (Reuters) - Raizen, the 50-50 joint venture between Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer Cosan and Royal-Dutch Shell, said in a market filing it signed a deal to acquire Distribuidora Latina and its 200-plus filling stations.
The target fuel distributor is strong in southern Brazil and has a fuel distribution center in Ijui, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's southernmost state where a large portion of the gas stations are located.
Raizen has 5,141 filling stations across Brazil under the brand name Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) . Cosan (NYSE: CZZ - news) operates 24 cane mills that produce sugar and ethanol, as well as a logistics company known as Rumo, the natural gas distributor Comgas and a land management company called Radar.
(Reporting by Roberto Samora; Writing by Reese Ewing and Andrew Hay)