News about a possible IPO of Compass, a gas and energy company belonging to the Cosan group, circulates frequently. It is estimated that the company could raise up to R$3 billion in an IPO. But this movement could take a different direction.
This is stated by Rubens Ometto, controller and chairman of the board of directors of Cosan, in an interview with the program É Negócio, a partnership between CNN Brasil and NeoFeedwhich has just debuted.
“I think Compass is a company that is worth a lot, it is a cash cowa company that generates resources, which also invests a lot”, says Ometto.
He continues with the explanation. “It is part of our program to analyze this, but I have my doubts about what is most profitable for us. Whether it’s an IPO or making a sale with a partner who is interested in investing in our business,” he says.
In the program, which is on air and can be followed on CNN’s YouTube, he also comments on other issues. One of the most curious is how he created one of the main business groups in the country, with more than 70 thousand employees and businesses spread across sugar and ethanol, logistics, rural properties, energy and gas, and mining. One business emerged after another as opportunities arose. Ometto also makes it clear what motivates him to create new companies.
“I have a lot of pleasure and I really enjoy it,” he says. “Sometimes, people see the businessman and say: ‘this guy is crazy about money, that’s not it’. Money is important to give sustainability to the project. Money is important for you to remunerate your shareholders, so that you have a return on your investment. But what satisfies most is seeing a project take off and become sustainable.”
What worries you currently? Legal uncertainty is one issue and the fiscal framework proposed by the government is another. “If you analyze the fiscal framework, as soon as it came out, I said this was going to be a problem,” he says. And he explains why.
“The government’s ability to invest is tied to a percentage of what it manages to raise more. So, you find the government increasingly worrying, instead of reducing expenses, about raising more. This comes with voracity and ends your legal security. Is very difficult.”
Ometto also spoke of Brazil as an energy and ecological power; the position he achieved at Vale; the main mistake he made in his career; the importance of having a mentor like José Ermírio de Moraes, from the Votorantim Group; and about new businesses.
