Itapemirim sale is questioned by administrator in court

EXM Partners, which manages the judicial reorganization process of the Itapemirim Group, is questioning in court the sale of ITA (Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos) and asking that the negotiation be barred at the Board of Trade.

In a statement distributed to employees on April 13, ITA President Adalberto Bogsan stated that the company was sold to Baufaker Consulting. EXM Partners states, however, that the transaction did not go through the judicial reorganization judge, contrary to the law.

In the petition, the administrator says she understands that, at this moment, the prudent thing would be not only to officiate to Jucesp (Junta Comercial do Estado de São Paulo) in order to prevent the transfer or any release of values ​​​​on this sale, but also to express that the practice of this operation cannot serve as an impediment to the inspection of this administrator”.

According to the lawsuit filed by EXM Partners, more than R$ 34 million were sent to ITA, without the group demonstrating such contributions with transparency. The judicial administrator claims to wait to be informed when Itapemirim will be reimbursed for these amounts and in what way.

The administrator also asks Itapemirim to present, in court, a copy of the contract for the sale of ITA to Baufaker.

According to Bogsan’s statement to ITA officials, the agreement with the Brasilia-based company includes the acquisition and maintenance of the lease of five A320CEO aircraft, resumption of meetings with Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency) and negotiations with creditors for payment. debts, such as salaries, leases, airport fees, passenger reimbursement and others.

The Itapemirim group has been in judicial recovery since 2016 and has tax debts of almost R$2 billion. Creditors have complained that the plan is not being carried out and that the company diverted money from the companies under reorganization to finance the airline.

With the plan to serve 35 destinations in its network by June 2022, ITA stopped operating in December last year, six months after its inaugural flight, affecting thousands of passengers on the eve of Christmas. An estimate by Procon-SP points out that the suspension caused damage to about 130 thousand passengers.

In early January, Anac prohibited ITA from selling airline tickets again until the company demonstrates that it has complied with all corrective actions for those affected by the suspension of its activities, such as re-accommodation and full refund of the air ticket.

report of Sheet in late February, however, it pointed out that ITA passengers had not yet been reimbursed.

According to Mandel Advocacia, which represents EXM Partners, the first call of the general meeting of creditors, determined by the Court, is scheduled for this Wednesday (20), but the Itapemirim companies have not yet submitted a preliminary proposal to be deliberated by creditors.