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On April 16, Brazilian companies Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) and Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) reached an agreement on three sales transactions.


CVRD would purchase CSN's 11.95 percent stake in Brazilian railroad Ferrovia Centro-Atlantica (FCA), and acquire CSN's and Taquari Participacoes S.A.'s 32.4 percent stake in Brazilian railroad Companhia Ferrovária do Nordeste; and CSN would purchase CVRD's stake in Sepetiba Tecon S.A., which operates a container terminal at the Port of Sepetiba in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.


CVRD plans to spend $6.6 million on the transactions, which would enable the mining, power-generation and transportation company to focus its resources on core transportation assets, according to a prepared statement.


CVRD and CSN — a steelmaking and power-generation firm — need to obtain regulatory approval, and negotiate commercial agreements and other contract stipulations to complete the deals.


The largest railroad in Latin America, 4,390-mile FCA operates in seven Brazilian states, and owns 341 locomotives and 7,781 rail cars.