Check out everything you need to know about the crisis in Americanas

In one week, the Americans changed president, saw its shares collapse on the stock exchange and became the target of lawsuits in court. But what caused this turnaround in the company’s daily life? And how will this affect investors, workers and customers?

Ask your questions about the case and follow the developments of the crisis:

What happened to Americanas?

• On January 11, after the market closed, Sergio Rial, who had taken over as CEO of the company just nine days ago, announced his resignation after finding “accounting inconsistencies” of BRL 20 billion in the company’s 2022 balance sheets. and from previous years. In his place, an interim was appointed. The recently appointed Director of Investor Relations, André Covre, also stepped down.The company went bankrupt?
• Do not. The retailer remains in operation with sales in physical stores and online, but concentrates its efforts on managing the business. Last week, it stopped sponsoring Big Brother Brasil and was replaced by Market Livre. At the moment, she is trying to reach an agreement with creditors. If this is not possible, the solution would be to resort to judicial recovery.

Did you see that? Americanas: in chains and stores, employees balance a climate of uncertainty and trust in the company

How did the BRL 20 billion in “accounting inconsistencies” disappear from the company’s balance sheets?

• The problem occurred in a common operation among retailers, called “withdrawal risk”. The company borrows from banks to buy material from suppliers. The banks advance the value to the supplier, and the retailer settles the debt with the financial institution, paying interest for the term of the loan.
• The “accounting inconsistency” occurred because this was not recorded correctly on the balance sheet. They were described as supplier expenses, but should have been counted as financial debts.

Was there an error or fraud?

How to fix “accounting inconsistency”?

• The company will have to republish balance sheets and recognize the debt. By doing this, there will be a change in the degree of indebtedness. The problem is that the retailer’s contracts with banks include guarantee clauses. The change in these financial indicators works as a trigger, which allows the early maturity of debts with banks.

Check out: Americanas: minority investors seek compensation

After all, how big is the hole in Americanas?

• Initially, it was R$ 20 billion. But the company has already cited the risk of early maturity of BRL 40 billion in debt. The total amount will still be closed by an audit.

How did the auditor not notice the billionaire difference in the balance sheet?

• Preliminary information indicates that the error in the accounts was not restricted to 2022 and could reach a period of five to ten years. In recent years, Americanas accounts have been audited by PwC and before that by KPMG. The two companies claim that they do not comment on the case due to contractual secrecy.

How did the market react to the breach in Americanas’ accounts?

• On the day following the announcement of the “accounting inconsistencies”, on Thursday, the 12th, Americanas shares dropped 77.3% and closed at R$2.72. It was the biggest drop by a company in the Ibovespa portfolio, the benchmark index for investors, since 1994, according to Valor Data.
• Investors reflected the drop in confidence in the company after the announcement of the breach in the accounts, which affects the reputation of the brand.

Know more: Americanas: billionaire owner of the retailer is the richest man in Brazil, according to Forbes

What is the way out of the crisis?

• In the evaluation of the company’s investors and creditors, Americanas will need a capital injection. The company’s main shareholders are billionaires Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles and Beto Sicupira, founders of 3G Capital. The three have a 31.13% stake in the company.
• Since the scandal was revealed, they have spoken out in favor of supporting the company. The problem is to define which value should be contributed and how it would be done.
• So far, what is expected is that a secondary offering of shares (follow on) be made with a guarantee of purchase of shares by the reference shareholders. But, according to sources, creditors have been charging a larger contribution than what shareholders would be willing to do.

How can Americanas raise capital to face the crisis?

• Analysts claim that Americanas may dispose of recent acquisitions that are not linked to the company’s core business. Among the most cited names are Hortifruti and the Natural da Terra network. Another alternative would be the VEM chain of convenience stores, a business in partnership with Vibra (formerly BR Distribuidora).
• But even disposing of these companies, the assessment is that Americanas will need an injection of capital from the partners.

Understand: Americanas prepares to file for judicial recovery and talks about R$ 40 billion in debt

What did Americanas do to prevent creditors from collecting what it owed in advance?

• The retailer went to court and obtained a precautionary measure last Friday, the 13th, which suspends any possibility of blocking or seizing goods for a period of 30 days. The decision of the 4th Business Court of Rio goes further and prohibits the seizure, attachment, seizure of assets from the 11th, when the company reported the billionaire gap in the balance sheets of previous years.
• Justice also determined that contracts and credit lines must be maintained in force. According to the decision, at the end of this period the company may file for judicial recovery. If you do not, the measure loses its effectiveness.
• So far, Americanas has stated that it seeks to avoid judicial recovery and that it intends to negotiate with creditors a satisfactory agreement for all.

Why did the Justice suspend the execution of debts?

• Americanas argued that the measure would be necessary to guarantee the viability of the company’s operation, which accounts for more than 100,000 jobs, considering direct and indirect jobs. He also recalled that it has 146 thousand shareholders.

How did creditors react to the decision?

• The court’s decision took the market and creditors by surprise and soured the mood in the negotiations. Creditors argue that the company should have negotiated directly and not sought legal protection. At least three banks appealed to the courts to try to release debt collection: BTG, Bank of America and Banco Votorantim.

Why did BTG start a legal battle against Americanas?

• Because the bank exercised the right to redeem the resources and had already recovered R$ 1.2 billion in debt, but was forced to return the money after the court decision. The bank has filed a series of appeals against the company in court and has changed its tone, speaking of fraud and drawing attention to the main shareholders.
• “The three richest men in Brazil (with assets valued at BRL 180 billion), anointed as a kind of demigods of ‘good’ world capitalism, are caught with their hands in the cash register of what, since 1982, has been one of the main companies of the trio”, says part of the appeal presented to Justice. In addition to going to court, the bank decided to resort to an arbitration process to recover the money.

See too: After a BRL 20 billion shortfall, Americanas withdraws from sponsoring the BBB23 on the eve of the reality premiere

Why is the Americanas crisis also affecting investment funds?

• The Americanas crisis is having an impact not only on those who bought shares in the company, but even on investors in fixed-income securities. According to a survey by the Comdinheiro platform, there are 31.7 million fund shareholders with some exposure to Americanas debt securities.
• The same person can be a shareholder in more than one fund, but that gives an idea of ​​the scope of the crisis. One of the most cited cases was that of Nu Reserva Imediata, a Nubank fixed income fund with 1.3 million shareholders, which showed negative profitability after the announcement of the breach in Americanas.
• The application is aimed at those who intend to build an emergency reserve and seek a return better than that of savings.
• But to achieve this goal, he has more than 20% of his portfolio made up of corporate bonds, including Americanas shares. In a note, Nubank informed that the share of investment in debentures (debt securities) by Americanas has already been reviewed by Nu Asset Management.

How are suppliers dealing with the company’s crisis?

• Part of the industry and sellers on the platform began to review procedures. Some stopped supplying products while awaiting the definition of the capital contribution from the company’s partners, others started to charge payment in cash.
• Americanas informed that it will continue paying its commitments and obligations with suppliers judiciously and that it has a strong collaboration relationship with partners and suppliers over 90 years.

How is the situation of the workers?

• There was no announcement of staff changes. On social media, however, there are reports of concern about the company’s future and jobs, votes of confidence in the retailer’s ability to recover and messages of solidarity from other professionals.

Understand: Procon-SP wants to know if Americanas will honor deliveries after a R$20 billion shortfall

How is the situation of the consumer?

• According to Americanas, the company’s operation follows normal, with sales on the website and in physical stores. Yesterday, the National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon), an agency linked to the Ministry of Justice, notified the company to provide clarification on the “crisis of accounting inconsistencies”.
• Last week, Procon-SP had already asked for explanations if the case would have an impact on the consumer, if purchases would be compromised and asking for more details.

What can happen to the company now?

• She can close an agreement with creditors, but in the assessment of analysts, she may have to file for judicial recovery to face the crisis.