Cosan Limited announced it had gone into a definitive agreement that will see it acquire Usina Zanin Acucar e Alcool Ltda. Cosan Limited is a Sugar and ethanol producer.  The acquisition target, Zanin, is a sugarcane producer based in the Araraquara region, Brazil. The transaction is however subject to satisfaction of certain required conditions.

Under the agreement entered by the two firms, Cosan will acquire all the outstanding shares of Zanin for $142 million Brazilian reais, as well as assume debts of approximately $236.6 million reais. Cosan is to use its available funds to finance the transaction.

Through the acquisition Cosan will gain access to Zanin's industrial and agricultural operations and a Greenfield project in the city of Prata, State of Minas Gerais. Zanin currently has 2.6 million tons of sugarcane crushing capacity.

Cosan is the largest sugar and ethanol producer in Brazil and ranks third in sugar and fifth in ethanol production in the world. Apart from its core operations, the company is also engaged in energy production from sugarcane bagasse.

Cosan's other businesses includes Fuel distribution, for which the company is keen on becoming the third largest distributor in Brazil after the consummation of the recently announced joint venture with Shell International Petroleum Company Limited.

Cosan, over time, has been growing through acquisitions and other expansion strategies. We believe the company is well positioned to benefit from the acquisition of Zanin by gaining operational and logistics synergies.

Cosan has 23 production facilities, 21 in São Paulo State, one in the city of Jataí (Goiás State) and another one in Caarapó (Mato Grosso do Sul State). It also operates four refineries and two port terminals. Through Cosan Combustíveis e Lubrificantes, licensed to use the Esso and Mobil brands, it has become the only totally integrated company in the sector.

A producer of crystal sugar (VHP), granulated refined sugar, organic sugar, amorphous liquid sucrose and inverted liquid sugar, ethanol and electric energy (produced from sugarcane), Cosan is the third largest sugar producer in the world, the fifth largest ethanol producer, and one of the world’s largest ethanol exporters. In the 2008/2009 harvest it crushed a record 44.2 million tons of sugarcane. With its incorporation of NovAmérica, its crushing capacity is today about 60 million tons. Its shares are traded on both the Bovespa and the NYSE.

11 Jan 2011.