Ricardo Eletro has bankruptcy suspended by Justice

The retailer Ricardo Eletro, controlled by Máquina de Vendas, had its bankruptcy suspended by an order from the 2nd Reserved Chamber of Business Law of São Paulo.

The company, in judicial recovery since 2020, was declared bankrupt by the Justice last Wednesday (8), by Judge Leonardo Fernandes dos Santos, of the 1st Court of Bankruptcy and Judicial Reorganizations of the Central Forum of São Paulo.

When declaring bankruptcy, the judge had pointed out that “there was the identification of several factors of asset emptying” and that the judicial recovery “does not meet the conditions for proceeding”.

Now, according to the rapporteur of the order, the judge Maurício Pessoa, the judicial recovery should be continued as far as possible, “especially with the supervision and follow-up, by the judicial administrator during the processing of this appeal”.

He pointed out, however, that the judicial administrator itself, Laspro Consultores, recorded that there had been “equity emptiness”.

“In this scenario, then, it was necessary to provide, with due transparency, clarity, speed, objectivity and concreteness, clarifications regarding its operational activity (…) “

The reversal takes place 48 hours after the decision. According to the company, Ricardo Eletro’s operational plan is to continue focusing on the marketplace, with an inventory model that seeks profitability.

“Since the approval of the judicial recovery by its creditors, in September 2021, Ricardo Eletro has 100% on-time deliveries, including the vast majority delivered even before its deadline”, says the retailer’s president, Pedro Bianchi , by means of a note.

“We still have many battle fronts, both inside and outside the judicial recovery process, but the team remains focused on stabilizing its recovery, and honoring the payment with its creditors.

The Vending Machine group had filed the appeal on Thursday. At the time, Bianchi stated that he was surprised by the decision of the Justice, and that the position of the presidency, directors and the entire legal body was of complete disagreement with the decision rendered.

“It is not up to the Judiciary to decide on the economic and financial viability of the company, but the company and its creditors”, he said.

The suspension is valid until the appeal is judged.

In October 2020, the retailer filed its judicial recovery plan. At the end of last year, the amount of indebtedness exceeded R$ 4 billion.

Ricardo Eletro was founded by Ricardo Nunes in the countryside of Minas Gerais, in 1989. It had more than 1,100 stores throughout Brazil, with more than 12 thousand direct employees.

In 2020, the founder of Ricardo Eletro was arrested on suspicion of tax evasion, being later released.