Oi obtains protection against creditors in the US Court

The operator Oi obtained in the Justice of New York protection against collections from its creditors, following the example of a favorable decision already obtained in the Justice of Rio de Janeiro on the last 8th.

With a debt of BRL 29.75 billion, Oi is considering filing for bankruptcy for the second time – the previous recovery was completed in mid-December, but the company claims it is still facing financial difficulties.

The company has not yet commented on the matter. When submitting the same request to the Brazilian court, it claimed that it needed to suspend certain obligations, “aimed at protecting its cash, and, consequently, the continuity of negotiations with its creditors in a balanced and transparent manner”.

Oi is defended by two law firms that work for Americanas in its judicial recovery process —Basílio Advogados and Salomão Advogados— and has been adopting a strategy similar to that of the retailer, which has already filed for judicial recovery.

On Thursday (9) the operator obtained an injunction to continue participating in six bidding processes, which add up to R$ 150 million in contracts, even if it is unable to present negative debt certificates.

Tenders are carried out by Petrobras, Saeb (Secretary of Administration of the State of Bahia), Banco do Brasil, Goiana Housing Agency, Public Defender of the State of Acre and ESPMG (School of Public Health of the State of Minas Gerais).

Oi’s debt is divided among 14 creditors. The largest installment, equivalent to R$9 billion, is with the Bank of New York Mellon. The institution appears in the document as a trustee (manager of debt securities).

Next comes the trustee GDC Partners. The credit is of almost R$ 8.3 billion. Then come Wilmington Trust, from London, whose credits add up to almost BRL 5.4 billion, China Development Bank (BRL 3.8 billion) and Itaú BBA (BRL 2 billion).

Fundação Atlântico de Seguridade Social (BRL 948.1 million), a closed supplementary pension entity sponsored by Oi, Banco do Nordeste (BRL 156.4 million), Banco da Amazônia (BRL 100 million), Bradesco (BRL 34 .4 million) and Banco ABC Brasil (R$ 2.5 million) are also on the company’s list of creditors.

Santander (R$ 2.3 million), BNP Paribas Brasil (R$ 675.5 thousand), Banco Fibra (R$ 29 thousand) and Banco Modal (R$ 24.8 thousand) complete the list with amounts receivable.