It’s over. The seven-week battle over dividends at oil stock Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) has finally reached a conclusion. And shareholders, who are very happy with the outcome, sent shares up nearly 3% in Friday afternoon’s trading session.
Despite a back-and-forth between shareholders, government agencies and the president of Brazil potentially involved, the seven-week battle has concluded, and shareholders landed just over $4.3 billion in dividend payouts. The government, which actually controls Petrobras, was planning to withhold the payment altogether, but ended up agreeing to pay out half of the “available extraordinary dividends,” a compromise which seemed agreeable enough for all concerned. Given that the Brazilian government, as the largest shareholder of Petrobras at 50.3%, will be the largest recipient of that dividend, the government figured it was a good idea to pay out. The government, at last report, will use…
