Petrobras raises $70bn in record share offering

Petrobras produces about 2.5m barrels of oil a day

Brazil's state oil company Petrobras has raised $70bn (£44.7bn) in the world's largest public share offering.

The offer was oversubscribed, with sovereign wealth funds from Middle East and Asia taking part.

Petrobras sold 1.87bn new preferred shares at 26.30 reais each and 2.4bn new common - or voting - shares at 29.65 reais each.

The money will fund the development of recently-discovered oil reserves off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

The offer's 2% discount to Petrobras's closing share price was much smaller than investors expected, and suggests strong demand for the shares.

"The deal was priced at a very tight discount, which is comforting to know because the market expected it to price lower," said Marcio Macedo, fund manager at Sao Paulo-based Humaita Investimentos.

A public share offer had been expected earlier this year, but was delayed while a deal was sorted out over how many shares the Brazilian government would receive in return for giving Petrobras access to up to 5bn barrels of oil.