Cosan buys Exxon's assets in Brazil for $826 million

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian ethanol producer Cosan said on Thursday it had agreed to buy ExxonMobil's assets in Brazil for $826 million, outmaneuvering state-run oil giant Petrobras to gain a foothold in the fuel distribution business.

The deal includes distribution and trading assets of Esso, a unit of U.S. oil company ExxonMobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), in the Latin American country, Cosan SA (CSAN3.SA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said in a statement.

"Cosan believes it will get to a new corporate level through this acquisition, enlarging its scope and becoming the first renewable energy player working in everything from sugar cane planting to distribution and trading of fuels," Cosan said.

With the agreement, Cosan beat Brazil's state-run energy giant Petrobras (PETR4.SA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(PBR.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which had bid for Exxon's assets in Brazil.

Cosan is a subsidiary of Cosan Ltd. (CZLT11.SA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(CZZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

(Reporting by Inae Riveras; Editing by John Picinich)