Petroperú: new board of directors would close the sale of the central building for below market value

In her address to the nation, President Dina Boluarte announced the transfer of all Petroperú staff based in the central building in San Isidro to Talara, thus confirming the decision of Oliver Stark’s board of directors to sell the asset in an attempt to resolve the company’s financial problems.

However, the decision of the state-owned company’s board of directors, which is subject to the General Shareholders’ Meeting, made up of the Ministries of Economy and Finance and Energy and Mines, will be subject to a series of factors that drive property prices below market value and risk a sale of public property.

How was arrive to this situation? Alberto Arispe, general manager of Kallpa SABexplains that the restructuring and fulfillment of the commitments of a company with solvency problems involves “raising cash to pay part of the debt, in addition to selling part of it.” And that requires an “unequivocal signal to the market.”

“You have to renegotiate part of the debt with creditors, you won’t be able to pay it all. The most important thing is to give clear signs that you are tightening your belt,” he explains.

Along these lines, the specialist believes that selling assets – such as the central building –, reducing personnel expenses and renegotiating the debt “are key parts of Petroperú’s restructuring.” Arispe also looks favorably on the sale of the company’s private club, located next to the Los Inkas Golf Course.

“They have to sell their non-strategic assets to allow them to continue with their operation. With that cash, they can cover any gaps they may have and give a signal to the market. In addition to reducing expenses, they must make their payroll more transparent, clean up the company and only then sit down with the creditor, who would be able to renegotiate the interest or payment terms in this way,” he points out.

Petroperú sells its headquarters: what is at stake

But it is not so easy. Miguel Cordano Rodríguez, president of the Technical Appraisal Body of Peru (CTTP)claims that it is the worst time to sell the central building of Petroperú, not only because the real commercial values ​​in the area of ​​influence have not yet recovered (a gap of -12.5% ​​compared to the pre-pandemic level), but because the operation would obey a strategy that seeks to “get rid of a fundamental asset for the financial statements not associated with the origin of the problems.”

The main Petroperú building covers an area of ​​approximately 5,000 m2 in the financial heart of San Isidro, in a highly commercial area with a market value of US$7,000 per m2 without construction.

The property also has a private parking lot of 1,200 m2. These are two different property registrations, explains the CTTP, which could be negotiated separately for a “fabulous corner” on the real estate market.

“From a valuation perspective, it does not look very good to divest assets when they do not have a direct impact on the main problem of insolvency, as is the case here,” he adds.

With a valuation higher than that of other Lima locations, such as Miraflores (+/- US$3,500) or in the surrounding area, such as Camino Real (+/- US$3,700), Cordano clarifies that “a company that loses its assets is worth less in the market, and the assets of a bankrupt company are worth even less.” Along these lines, he assures that it is “different to sell a company that has the connotation that its strategy has already worked.”

“There is no resolution stating that the company is officially bankrupt. What we are seeing is an isolated decision, as if it were a form of corporate savings, with a decision by a board of directors that sees fit for executive action by a company as if it were operating normally, which is not the case,” he points out.

Petroperú: How much does its central building in San Isidro cost?

According to the appraiser, Petroperú’s board of directors “intends to address a labor issue by vacating the building and putting the asset up for sale with the idea of ​​reducing the company’s liabilities.”

For the CTTP, this is not an adequate solution, since the company’s overall strategy must be implemented, within which “the sale is a strategic step, and not a purely operational step of buying and selling.”

Although the land alone is worth around US$43.5 million, there is currently no official appraisal for the central building that has been constructed. Cordano explains that aspects associated with the age, sanitation and physical inspection of the apartments must be considered, in an operation also conditioned by whether the purchase and sale transaction is for tax purposes, investment in projects or a dispute resolution, among others.

“What comes first, the sale of the property, or making it part of a going concern? The value is associated with the valuation of the company. If it were to have a buyer, that asset or property is valued to a greater degree. But, if it is considered a failing value of a company with no future, that land is also affected in its commercial valuation,” he adds.

Debt, asset sales and the extinction of Petroperú

The professor of the UNMSM Jorge Manco Zaconetti Remember that this is not the first time that the state oil company could be involved in an operation to buy and sell assets at prices below market prices.

He explains that 60% of the shares of La Pampilla, whose land alone was worth US$112 million, were sold to the private sector for US$180 million, including US$40 million in debt securities.

Between 1997 and 2023, it generated almost US$60 billion in revenue. Manco says that a better strategy for the Petroperú central building would be to reduce the number of occupied floors and rent the rest at real market prices. Today, offices of public entities such as Proinversión, among others, operate there.

“The sale does not move the needle on a short-term current liability of more than US$4.5 billion. I see it more as a symbol to liquidate Petroperú“, the researcher concludes.

The data

• Among other assets under the scrutiny of the Stark board are the Punta Arenas Club (Talara), Casa El Olivar (San Isidro), Villa Petroperú (Los Órganos), Casa Pallardelli (San Isidro), Fishing Club House (Punta Sal), Fishing Club (Talara), Las Palmeras Condominium, and the Rimac Land.
• Petroperú recorded losses of more than US$183 million in the first quarter of 2024 alone, according to its audited financial statements.
• Approximately 25% of Petroperú’s staff works at the central headquarters in San Isidro.