LLX Rose 5.4% to BRL 2.33 at The Close of Trading in Sao Paulo

Bloomberg cited LLX Logistica SA, the Brazilian port operator headed by billionaire Mr Eike Batista saying that the most in a week after agreeing to lease space at its Acu complex to the local unit of French steel pipe maker Vallourec SA.

However, LLX rose 5.4% to BRL 2.33 at the close of trading in Sao Paulo. It was the biggest gainer on Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa index, which rose 0.5%.

According to Mr Victor Mizusaki an equity analyst at UBS AG, the stock had plunged 45% from this year’s high in March as projects by companies including Ternium SA and Anglo American Plc expired or were postponed. Combined with an agreement last month with General Electric Co may bring new momentum to Batista’s plan to build what he calls a superport at Acu, about 200 miles north of Rio.

Mr Mizusaki said that “These announcements confirm that large companies have interest to construct a facility in the industrial complex.”

LLX in a regulatory filing said that V&M do Brasil SA, Vallourec’s local unit, will build a logistics base at LLX’s Acu port to service oil companies that operate in the Campos basin under a 20 year agreement. Vallourec is based in Boulogne Billancourt, France.

Acu is the centerpiece of Batista’s plan to integrate his commodities and oil empire and tap Chinese demand for Brazil’s raw materials. The port could become the world’s third-biggest by attracting investments from oil-storage facilities, steelworks and car plants, he said in an interview in March 2011.