Brazil has an initial plan to raise $2 billion with a bond sale announced earlier Wednesday, according to a person close to the operation.

The Brazilian national treasury said Wednesday it would sell bonds denominated in dollars and use the proceeds to repurchase certain outstanding bonds as part of its effort to reduce its debt service costs. It didn't unveil the amount to be issued

The operation, which is expected to price later Wednesday, will sell bonds maturing in 2045 and use most of the money raised to buy back bonds maturing in 2024, 2025, 2027, 2030, 2034, 2037 and 2041, the treasury said. The government has a total outstanding of around $11.9 billion in bonds with those maturities.

"Historically, a buyback offer reaches 10-15% of the outstanding amount," the same person noted. Deutsche Bank, Itau and Bank of America Merrill Lynch were hired to coordinate the operation, the person said.

The operation comes as the country's economy is mired in a slow expansion amid growing pressure on government finances.

Brazil's debt remains in investment grade territory according to the major international credit rating companies. Standard & Poor's cut the credit rating on Brazil's long-term bonds to one notch above junk in March, citing deteriorating government accounts and rising debt.

After expanding just 2.5% last year, South America's largest economy is expected to grow less than 1% this year, a pace considered too slow for a developing nation that still needs to lift millions of its citizens out of poverty, according to economists.