North America

Mexico’s Aeromexico yesterday scheduled meetings with investors to discuss debt restructuring after becoming the third large Latin American carrier to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, Reuters reported. Management of the airline part-owned by Delta Air Lines Inc. proposed focusing on the modification of payment terms for stocks and other certificates in the meetings now planned for July 20, according to a statement sent to the Mexican stock exchange.

Insurer Aviva Canada faces a proposed class-action lawsuit that claims Canadian businesses have been denied contagious-disease coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Globe and Mail reported. Toronto law firm Thomson Rogers filed a request for certification of a class action last week in the Ontario Superior Court against Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, alleging that the company failed to honour its business-interruption claims for Canadian businesses with what is known as enterprise-insurance policies.

A stalking horse bid for Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group was dismissed as inadequate by lenders during a Quebec court hearing into the company’s restructuring on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Canada’s once high-flying Cirque received initial protection from its creditors, after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the famed circus operator to cancel shows and lay off artists. Montreal-based Cirque, which grew from a troupe of street-performers in the 1980s to a company with global reach, has slashed about 95% of its workforce and suspended shows due to the pandemic.

Mexican airline Aeromexico, which is in the process of analyzing its options for restructuring its short- and medium-term financial commitments, was thrown a $50 million financial lifeline on Monday by investment holding company Aimia Inc, Reuters reported. Aeromexico’s shares tanked earlier in June after a newspaper column said it was considering filing for bankruptcy, though the airline later clarified it had not decided whether to seek Chapter 11 protections in the United States.

Canada’s Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the famed circus operator to cancel shows and lay off its artistes, Reuters reported. The Montreal-based entertainment company, which runs six shows in Las Vegas, has struggled to keep its business running amid coronavirus restrictions that started in March, forcing it to lay off about 95% of its workforce and temporarily suspend its shows.

Footwear retailer Aldo Group Inc. could receive a capital injection from Quebec’s government as it works through a court restructuring triggered by the pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. “We are, through Investissement Quebec, at the table with them to look at what’s the best structure going forward,” Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “We’re going to be helping,” he said, adding it’s too early to give an amount or a structure for the investment. “It could be equity.” Investissement Quebec is the government’s investment and lending arm.

Aeromexico is analyzing its options for an orderly restructuring of its short- and medium-term financial commitments, the Mexican airline said on Friday, adding that it had not decided whether to seek Chapter 11 protections in the United States, Reuters reported. Aeromexico shares fell more than 5% in early trading after a newspaper column said the Mexican airline was considering filing for bankruptcy.

A second wave of Covid-19 would deepen this year’s recession in Latin America’s three largest economies by more than 1 percentage point, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Bloomberg News reported. Argentina and Brazil would suffer the biggest hits, shrinking by 10% and 9.1%, respectively, while Mexico would contract by 8.6%, Paris-based OECD said in a report published on Wednesday. A possible second wave of the virus could come between October and November following the easing of containment measures currently in place, the organization said.

Canada’s housing agency announced it will tighten mortgage qualification rules for high-risk borrowers, a controversial move that could curb credit in an economy trying to emerge from its deepest contraction of the postwar era, Bloomberg News reported. The state-owned Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp., which offers default insurance to home buyers with low down payments, said it will narrow eligibility criteria as of July 1. Buyers will need higher credit scores and lower debt burdens to qualify, the agency said Thursday in Ottawa.

Comark Holdings Inc said on Wednesday it would restructure under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) as the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Canadian apparel retailer’s business, Reuters reported. Apparel retailers have been facing mounting debt and bankruptcies as the economic damage brought on by the pandemic has forced store closures and pressured discretionary spending. The fashion retailer’s Ricki’s, Cleo and Bootlegger websites will remain operational, Comark said, adding it would optimize its store footprint during the restructuring.