The source, asking for anonymity as talks are underway, said preliminary board and management discussions were converging toward selling control of BR Distribuidora to garner a higher valuation.
An initial plan to sell a minority stake was behind the disappointing bids, the source said.
To kickstart the process, Petrobras must tell the three firms that placed second-round bids last month that the structure of the deal will change, the source said.
The three bidders were global energy and commodity trading company Vitol BV and private-equity firms GP Investments and Advent International Corporation, the source said.
The 30 firms that participated in a first-round bid could be invited to join the reworked stake sale process, the source said. Petrobras said in a securities filing that the structure of the BR Distribuidora stake sale will be decided this month.
Neither the board nor management of Petrobras have decided yet whether to share or surrender control of the subsidiary, the filing added.
The media office of Rio de Janeiro-based Petrobras, which fully owns BR Distribuidora, declined further comment.
Chief executive officer Pedro Parente, who took office in June, wants to sell assets and cut debt without depriving Petrobras of units that generate cash or are core to the business.
Reuters reported in March that Parente’s predecessors favoured selling control of BR Distribuidora as interest in a minority stake faltered.
The discussions will define which model for the deal would bring about the highest price for BR Distribuidora and maximise profits and dividends for Petrobras, the source said.
A control-sharing mechanism in which Petrobras would cede voting control of BR Distribuidora has been widely used in the past by state firms, such as Banco do Brasil SA.
According to the source, the violent divergence in valuations led the board and Parente’s team to rethink the plan. Petrobras is seeking a valuation for BR Distribuidora of between 30bn and 40bn reais, the source added. The company had 118bn reais ($36bn) in revenue last year and owns Brazil’s No.
1 gasoline station network.
In the June process, bids valued the company between 10bn reais and 15bn reais, the source noted.
The disposal of a stake in BR Distribuidora is part of a $14.4bn target for asset sales at Petrobras, which is struggling with $130bn in debt, the largest debt of any global oil company.
Potential bidders have remained wary of gasoline price caps and fallout from a massive corruption probe.