Suncor (SU) May Sell Its Petro-Canada Lubricants Division

According to a report recently published by Reuters, Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) has begun an auction for its lubricants business. The auction relates to the Petro-Canada lubricants division that manufactures white mineral oils used in commodities like health and beauty products, pharmaceuticals and plastics.

Suncor had merged with Petro-Canada in 2009. Currently, the company has joined forces with Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) on the sale process. The sale is expected to generate around $800 million and help Suncor pay down debt that has swelled after the company shelled out more than $7 billion to fund its recent mergers and acquisitions. Also, the proceeds are expected to help the company recover from adversities like weak commodity prices and the Canadian wildfire, which weakened its cash flow position.

Suncor has been on an acquisition spree for the past two years. The company had bought Canadian Oil Sands Limited for $3.32 billion in March. The following month, the company acquired an additional 5% stake in Syncrude oil sands consortium for C$937 million from Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) .

Last week, Suncor Energy Ventures Holding Corporation – a wholly owned subsidiary of the company – declared that it has offered to purchase its notes worth C$1.5 billion. The plan reflects the company’s intention to lower its debt load – which is C$15 billion as per Bloomberg – and to enhance liquidity.

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Calgary, Alberta-based Suncor is Canada’s premier integrated energy company. Suncor's operations include oil sands development and upgrade, conventional and offshore crude oil and gas production, petroleum refining, and product marketing under the Petro-Canada brand. The company has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last four quarters with an average beat of 22.05%.

Currently, the company carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), which implies that the stock will underperform the broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months.

A better-ranked player in energy sector would be Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) . The stock sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).