The AGU (Advocacia Geral da União) managed to suspend, this Monday morning (6), two injunctions that suspended the meeting of debenture holders in Furnas, a subsidiary of Eletrobras. The assembly, scheduled for this Monday, is vital for the privatization of the state-owned company to take place on Thursday (9).
Judge Isabel Teresa Pinto Coelho Diniz, from the Federal Court of Rio de Janeiro, granted the preliminary injunctions this Sunday morning (5). Despite being different processes, both were moved by ASEFU (Association of Employees of Furnas).
In the lawsuit filed by Souza Neto e Tartarini Advogados, the employees allege that the convening of the meeting does not respect the minimum period of eight days in advance and violates the shareholders’ agreement itself, since Furnas has already made a first contribution of R$ 681 .4 million on June 2, before getting approval from all investors.
At the first meeting, on May 30, it obtained approval from the holders of the first series. According to the agreement, it would have to wait for the approval of the other debenture holders at this Monday’s meeting.
The quorum required for the second meeting (30%) and compliance with the company’s minimum compliance and governance rules are also questioned.
The office of this action is preparing to inform this matter to the SEC (the regulatory body of the US capital markets). As Eletrobras has ADRs (stock receipts) in the United States, it owes information to the American regulator.
In the other lawsuit, presented by Advocacia Garcez, the employees present an additional argument to suspend the meeting, a conflict of interest in the participation of Banco Bradesco in the process.
According to this other lawsuit, while the bank represents 23% of the debenture holders, it was hired by Furnas, for amounts that could reach R$ 7 million, to find the debenture holders and guide them at the meeting, according to lawyers who presented the lawsuit. .
Furnas is a partner in Madeira Energia, with a 43% stake, and announced that it is preparing to take on a capitalization in the company that needs to reach R$ 1.5 billion. The contribution will cover the costs of Santo Antônio’s defeat in an arbitration court.
With this operation, Furnas took control of the company, reaching a 70% stake.
To make this contribution, the company needed a prior approval from investors of debentures issued by the company in 2019. Otherwise, the injection of funds into Madeira Energia could trigger the early maturity of the debentures, depending on the debt assumed.
Sought after, Eletrobras, Furnas and Banco Bradesco did not return until the publication of this text.
Contributed by Idiana Tomazelli
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
