Brazilian conglomerate Cosan has sold some 173 million shares it owned in Vale , it said on Thursday, unloading a stake that made it an important shareholder of the mining giant as it looks to reduce debt.

S.A. (B3: CSAN3; NYSE: CSAN), a Brazil-based energy and logistics company with a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, has sold its entire shareholding stake in Vale S.A., a global mining company. The transaction involved the sale of 173,

Billionaire Rubens Ometto’s conglomerate Cosan SA is giving up its stake in mining giant Vale SA, ending its bet on a mining investment in order to pay down debt.

Brazilian conglomerate Cosan has unloaded some 173 million shares it owned in mining giant Vale, which accounted for a stake of roughly 4.05%, it said in a securities filing on Thursday. The move was "based solely on the goal of optimizing its capital structure,