SoftBank Group Corp. is in talks to invest about $230 million in Brazilian online lender Creditas as the firm expands investments in Latin America, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported. SoftBank is planning to do the deal via a joint investment from its Vision Fund and newly created Innovation Fund, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the details aren’t public. No final decisions have been made, and SoftBank may still decide against the transaction, they said. SoftBank and Creditas declined to comment.
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Brazilian retailer Magazine Luiza SA said in a filing on Monday it agreed to buy online shoe retailer Netshoes Ltd for approximately $62 million, Reuters reported. Magazine Luiza offered to pay $2 a share. Rival Brazilian retailer B2W had said earlier in April it was considering the acquisition of Netshoes. Netshoes stocks ended 3.9 percent down on Monday at $2.65. Shares have fallen by 85.3 percent since its initial public offering two years ago, as the company has struggled to turn a profit.
Brazilian lawmakers delayed a vote on pension reform legislation, dealing a blow to President Jair Bolsonaro’s policy agenda and irking investors who hope the overhaul will bolster Latin America’s largest economy, The Wall Street Journal reported. Opposition lawmakers on Monday night managed to push back, likely into next week, the first of several votes needed to approve a bill proposed by Mr. Bolsonaro that imposes tougher retirement rules.
Struggling Brazilian airline Avianca Brasil had told regulators that it was permanently cancelling several routes as of Monday despite continuing to sell tickets for them on its website, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The airline, which has been fighting aircraft lessors in bankruptcy court, told civil aviation regulator ANAC in the letter sent on Friday that it was ending 48 flight frequencies — around a quarter of its capacity — due to a shrinking fleet, Reuters reported.
Avianca Brasil on Friday canceled 179 flights scheduled for the next five days after a judge denied an appeal by the carrier to hold on to nine disputed planes, marking the unraveling of the airline four months after it filed for bankruptcy protection, Reuters reported. Avianca Brasil was operating with 35 planes, a representative said, but a federal judge late on Friday ordered the return of nine planes “immediately,” denying the carrier’s last-minute appeal, according to a news release by the Brazilian court.
Brazilian retailers B2W and Magazine Luiza confirmed in filings on Wednesday they are considering the acquisition of online shoe retailer Netshoes Ltd, Reuters reported. The deal model is still unclear. When Netshoes hired Goldman, Sachs last year, the company was seeking an investor to inject cash so it could restructure its debt. Analysts at Banco Brasil Plural said in a note to clients on Thursday that a potential acquisition would be neutral for Magazine Luiza, as the acquisition price would not strongly affect cash flow.
Brazilian fertilizer company Fertilizantes Heringer SA proposed to repay unsecured creditors 20 percent of amounts owed them and to sell seven non-operating plants, as part of its restructuring plan, according to a securities filing on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in February, closing nine of its plants in Brazil and laying off workers, as its liquidity situation deteriorated. Heringer’s unsecured creditors hold 1.7 billion reais of the company’s debt, the document showed. Secured creditors would be paid 60 percent what they were owed.
BNP Paribas on Wednesday denied having sued Astaldi, adding that it was the Italian builder that had launched legal action against the French lender on March 13, Reuters reported. The bank said it and other lenders were sued by Astaldi over the payment of an international guarantee issued by BNP Paribas at the request of the Italian group in favour of National Bank of Canada. The legal move was “totally groundless”, BNP added. Earlier on Wednesday, Italian daily Il Messaggero reported that BNP had sued Astaldi over an alleged breach of a contract in Canada, complicating its rescue plan.
Terra Forte, one of the largest Brazilian coffee exporters, has filed for bankruptcy protection in a Sao Paulo state court, lawyers for the company said on Wednesday. Law firm Freire, Assis, Sakamoto e Violante said Terra Forte was looking to restructure 1.1 billion reais ($288.2 million) in debt, Reuters reported. It also said the exporter was seeking to raise 60 million reais in working capital from investors to maintain operations. Terra Forte is a well-known player in the international coffee market.