Petrobras raises $70 bn in largest offering ever

Brazilian oil major Petrobras has mopped-up about $70 billion in the world's largest share offering. Out of the total proceeds, around $43 billion would go to the Brazilian government, which is a majority shareholder, according to British daily The Financial Times.

"Petrobras, Brazil's national oil company, has raised about $70 billion in the biggest share issue in corporate history," the newspaper said quoting a person familiar with the matter.

As per the report, the government would take the proceeds worth $43 billion in exchange for the rights to five billion barrels of oil in Brazil's newly discovered pre-salt oilfields -- so called because they are trapped under several kilometres of seawater, rock and a hard-to-penetrate layer of salt.