Production at Santelisa is at a standstill as a result, and there are fears that the deal could be in jeopardy.
Press reports suggest that the take-over of the family-owned company by a local subsidiary of Louis Dreyfus Commodities (LDC) is a done deal. However, an LDC spokesperson says nothing has been settled.
Santelisa, based in the city of Ribeirão Preto in São Paulo state — which produces 35% of Brazil’s ethanol — has five refineries that can crush 20 million tonnes of sugar cane per year.
