Americanas manages to suspend disputes with creditors – 04/11/2023 – Market

Americanas announced this Tuesday (11), in a statement to the market, that it reached an agreement with some financial creditors to temporarily suspend ongoing legal disputes. The names of the banks involved were not mentioned.

The company says that the suspension will allow its efforts to be focused on negotiating a judicial recovery plan that guarantees the continuity of its operation and is acceptable to most creditors.

“Although there is still no agreement with its financial creditors in relation to the last proposal presented, the company remains committed to maintaining constructive negotiations with its creditors in search of a sustained solution that allows the continuity of its activities”, says Americanas.

Itaú Unibanco confirmed to Reuters the day before that it is one of the institutions involved in the agreement, following news on the matter.

Americanas did not mention how long the suspension will be in effect.

Creditor banks and Americanas have been waging several legal battles, especially in courts in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, over factors such as the production of advance evidence within the scope of investigations of accounting inconsistencies revealed by the retailer. The case even reached the STF (Federal Supreme Court).

Americanas has been facing a judicial recovery process since January of this year, with a debt of approximately R$43 billion with 16,300 creditors.

In early April, the trio of Brazilian billionaires Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles and Beto Sicupira, owners of the private equity firm 3G and reference shareholders of Americanas, signaled an investment of R$ 12 billion in the retailer to try to overcome the crisis. .

A significant contribution to cover part of the gap was demanded by the banks since the scandal came to light in January. They started demanding BRL 16 billion, but some were already accepting BRL 12 billion.

(With Reuters)