Petroleo Brasileiro SA’s board settled on a 50% payout of its potential extraordinary dividends from 2023, settling a dispute that rocked the Brazilian market over concerns that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was exercising too much influence over the state-controlled oil producer.
The agreement is a compromise, since the market had originally expected a payout that would exceed $3 billion and was instead granted no extraordinary dividends in a meeting last month. Shareholders must approve the measure in a meeting on April 25, the oil giant said in a regulatory filing late Friday.