Brazilian telecom Oi SA said on Wednesday it had received the go-ahead from a court to sell a majority stake in its fiber optic business to funds managed by Banco BTG Pactual, Reuters reported. Oi, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2016 and has since been selling assets to pay creditors, said the court had determined there were no other bids on the table. Oi in April accepted a 12.9 billion reais ($2.5 billion) offer for a 57.9% stake in its fiber optic business from BTG’s funds.
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Petroleo Brasileiro SA raised about $2.3 billion through the sale of its remaining stake in Brazil’s largest fuel distributor in the biggest equity transaction in Latin America this year, Bloomberg reported. Petrobras, as the company is known, fully exited Petrobras Distribuidora SA in an offering that priced at 26 reais ($5.23) a piece, according to company filings. The sale is part of a broader plan from the oil giant to exit non-core businesses, cut debt and focus on deep-water projects. The downsizing is also part of the government’s strategy to divest state-run assets.
Brazilian miner Samarco Mineracao SA, an iron ore joint venture between Vale SA e BHP Group Ltd, plans to raise $2 billion in fresh capital as part of its plan to exit bankruptcy protection, according to court documents, Reuters reported. Samarco plans to raise the fresh funds from investors through a competitive process roughly 30 days after a Brazilian judge approves its restructuring plan, which has yet to be discussed with creditors. The proceeds will fund its operations between 2022 and 2027.
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Bankrupt miner Samarco Mineracao SA plans to receive a 1.2 billion reais ($238 million) debtor-in-possession loan extended by its controlling shareholders, Vale SA and BHP Group Ltd, to maintain its activity, according to court documents reviewed by Reuters. But a group representing 80% of Samarco’s debt excluding Vale and BHP oppose the move, saying the DIP financing goal would be to protect Vale and BHP assets. Among these creditors are York Global Finance, Ashmor, Solus and City National.
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Samarco Mineracao SA, a bankrupt joint venture between Brazilian miner Vale SA and BHP Group Ltd, proposed on Thursday a plan to restructure 50 billion reais ($10 billion) in debt with an offer of preferred shares or a cash payout in 2041 equal to 15% of the current value of holdings, Reuters reported. Samarco filed for bankruptcy protection in April to prevent creditors' claims from affecting operations that restarted at the end of 2020, more than five years after a tailings dam collapsed causing one of Brazil's worst environmental accidents.
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LATAM Airlines Group, the region’s largest carrier, said on Wednesday that it had sought to extend until September the deadline to present its restructuring plan as part of the bankruptcy protection process initiated in 2020, Reuters reported. LATAM filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. in May of last year, hammered by the world travel crisis generated by the coronavirus pandemic. At the time, it was the world’s largest airline to take such action due to COVID-19.
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Brazilian metropolitan rail company Supervia filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, the company said, as traffic was sharply hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reported. The company, controlled by a Japanese group that includes a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co 8031.T and West Japan Railway Co 9021.T, will restructure 1.2 billion reais ($237.4 million) in debt. Before the pandemic, Supervia, which operates in Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, had around 600,000 passengers a day but now the number has dropped to 300,000.
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Latam Airlines Group SA Chief Executive Roberto Alvo, seeking to stave off an overture from rival Azul SA, said the bankrupt air carrier’s Brazilian operations aren’t for sale, Bloomberg News reported. Santiago-based Latam, which has now been in U.S. bankruptcy for more than a year, has its sights set on a strong chapter 11 exit -- not a piecemeal sale of the business, Alvo said in an interview Wednesday. The carrier’s shares briefly slumped last week after it denied reports that Azul SA planned to buy Latam’s Brazilian subsidiary.
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Authorities in Brazil are investigating senior employees at Connecticut-based trading house Freepoint Commodities for their alleged role in a bribery scheme involving state-run oil company Petrobras, Reuters has learned. Federal police here suspect Freepoint, through an intermediary, routed bribes to Petrobras employees for a roughly seven-year period ending in 2018. Reuters pieced together the purported kickback operation from three people close to the investigation, and hundreds of pages of previously unreported court documents filed by Brazilian investigators.
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Brazilian airline Azul SA has approached Chile’s bankrupt LATAM Airlines Group with the aim of buying its Brazilian operation, Reuters reported. Azul’s shares rose more than 9% in Sao Paulo on the news, while LATAM’s shares in Santiago, where the airline is listed, were down 20%. LATAM filed for bankruptcy protection a year ago and, while it has secured new liquidity in that process, it has yet to present a formal restructuring plan.