Headlines

A Chilean wind farm operator backed by Latin American Power has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. with a restructuring deal that would provide financial relief from a debt default due to increased competition and severe drought, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Santiago-based Inversiones Latin America Power filed for chapter 11 Thursday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, with more than $400 million of debt.

Robert Bull, the owner of beleaguered caravan giant RoyaleLife that is facing £725 million ($916 million) in debt, was declared bankrupt by an English court on Friday, Bloomberg News reported. It’s a stunning reversal for a man who, just seven months ago, was said to have a wealth of £1.9 billion and was the second-highest ranking new entry in The Sunday Times rich list. Judge Michael Giddins made a bankruptcy order against Bull on Friday in a hearing at County Court in Southampton, England.

Brazil's central bank still sees its current pace of 50-basis-point interest rate cuts per meeting as appropriate and expects it to remain in place for the next few meetings, multiple board members said on Friday, Reuters reported. Remarks from Governor Roberto Campos Neto and economic policy director Diogo Guillen came as the central bank's monetary policy committee prepares to gather for the final time this year on Dec. 12 to 13.

Ireland’s Paschal Donohoe, whose leadership of euro-area finance ministers has elevated his global profile, is considering a bid to lead the International Monetary Fund, Bloomberg News reported. Donohoe, 49, is currently Ireland’s minister for public expenditure and served as finance minister from 2017 to 2022. He has led the Eurogroup — the body of finance chiefs that steered the bloc through its sovereign debt crisis and the pandemic — since mid-2020, having been elected late last year for a second 2 ½-year term.

A German court has called upon the lawyer of former Wirecard board member Jan Marsalek, who has been on the run since the implosion of the German payments company, to testify next Wednesday in Germany's biggest post-war fraud trial, Reuters reported. Wirecard became the first-ever DAX member to file for insolvency in 2020, owing creditors almost $4 billion, after disclosing a 1.9 billion euro ($2.13 billion) hole in its accounts.

Kinepolis Group NV, one of the largest theater operators in Europe, recently considered making a bid for Cineplex Inc., the No. 1 chain in Canada, but chose not to proceed after concluding a deal would struggle to win regulatory approval, Bloomberg News reported. Kinepolis may still pursue a deal if it can partner with another bidder to acquire some of Cineplex’s theaters.

Ethiopia's agreement with its bilateral creditors, other than China, to suspend debt payments until 2025 could be voided if the country does not secure an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan by March 31, 2024, the Paris Club of developed creditor nations said, Reuters reported. The debt service standstill for 2023 and 2024, which the central bank governor says will save the country $1.5 billion, applies to loans agreed before Nov. 10.

Nottingham City Council became the latest major casualty of Britain’s growing crisis in local government finances after being crippled by inflation and rising demand for its services, Bloomberg News reported. The council declared effective bankruptcy by issuing a so-called section 114 notice on Wednesday after finding a £23 million hole in this year’s budget. The city in the Midlands in central England is one of the largest local authorities to succumb to a myriad of financial pressures battering councils.

Airline SAS AB is set to complete its US Chapter 11 process by June following expected regulatory approvals in Europe, according to Chief Executive Officer Anko van der Werff, Bloomberg News reported. That means the process is going according to plan, the CEO said in an interview on Thursday after posting fourth-quarter earnings that saw its adjusted pretax loss widen 30% year-on-year. The Scandinavian carrier filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2022, and in October reached a $1.2 billion refinancing deal with a group of investors including Air France-KLM and Castlelake.

China Evergrande Group, the world's most indebted property developer, is seeking to avert a potentially imminent liquidation with a last-minute debt restructuring proposal, Reuters reported. The defaulted company has until a Hong Kong court hearing on Monday to present a "concrete" revised debt restructuring proposal for offshore creditors, a judge said last month after its original plan had lapsed.