RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian mogul Eike Batista’s Grupo EBX announced Thursday a “strategic accord” with General Electric Co. that involves GE’s paying $300 million for a 0.8 percent stake in the industrial conglomerate.

GE’s stake will take the form of shares in Centennial Asset Brazilian Equity LLC and other offshore holding companies connected to EBX.

The GE investment will bolster the conglomerate’s “solid” financial structure and fund new projects, EBX said.

“EBX is already a large GE strategic partner and by strengthening our existing relationship, this investment opens up more opportunities in key resource-rich areas of the world,” GE Chairman and Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said in a statement.

GE is a key supplier to EBX units in sectors such as oil and gas, energy generation and mining, the Brazilian company said.

“The GE investment solidifies what has been a great partnership,” Batista said.

Major EBX components include oil company OGX, miner MMX, shipbuilder OSX, logistics firm LLX and energy concern MPX, all of which are publicly traded.

Brazil’s richest person disclosed in March that he sold a 5.63 percent stake in EBX to Abu Dhabi state investment fund Mubadala for $2 billion.

With an estimated fortune of $30 billion, Eike Batista is the world’s seventh-richest person, according to Forbes magazine. EFE