Last month, the Americanas debt restructuring plan was confirmed by the court handling the Brazilian retailer’s bankruptcy, following creditor approval in late 2023 and favorable legal opinions provided both by the judicial manager and the Public Prosecutor. The plan is centered on a BRL 12bn (USD 2.4bn) capital increase from the largest shareholders, and a debt-for-equity swap option for unsecured creditors.

Source: Debtwire’s Restructuring Database

Also in February, Oi SA presented a revised version of its reorganization plan, which is expected to be voted on at the creditor meeting scheduled for early March, depending on whether the court will confirm the meeting or grant a suspension request made by regulator Anatel and other creditors of the Brazilian telecom services provider. Electricity services provider Light SA also presented a revised plan, considered worse than the previous proposal by certain dissident creditors, and bond trustee Bank of New York Mellon asked the court to suspend the creditor meeting scheduled for March, in order to enable bondholders to vote on the plan.

Cement maker Cimento Tupi was the third Brazilian company to file an amended repayment proposal in February, which came along with a request for the court to schedule a meeting for early May. All decisions regarding creditor meeting suspension and confirmation requests should be issued in early March 2024. In other plan-related news, the appeals filed by Unifin creditors against the approval of the plan proposed by the Mexican non-bank financial institution were accepted by the First Federal Bankruptcy Court in Mexico City.

Source: Debtwire’s Restructuring Database

February also saw Unigel file an extrajudicial recovery proceeding and have the bankruptcy protection request admitted for review, after reaching an agreement with creditors over the terms of a fair restructuring proposal for its bond debt. The filing has also ruled out eventual discussions regarding the expiration of the protective injunction issued in favor of the Brazilian petrochemical producer in December 2023. Also admitted for review was the reorganizacion concursal proceeding commenced in early January by Chilean casino operator Enjoy SA with the Eighth Civil Court of Santiago, with Juan Ignacio Jamarne Torres, of the Jamarne y Cia Abogados law firm, being appointed as the observer (veedor) tasked with assisting the court throughout the case.

In terms of cross-border situations, in February global green coffee supplier Mercon Coffee obtained recognition, in Brazil, of the voluntary Chapter 11 case commenced by the company in late 2023 as its foreign main insolvency proceeding. Certain local creditors challenged the effects of the recognition decision over their claims.

Source: Debtwire’s Restructuring Database

In terms of post-petition funding, Gol Linhas Aereas SA obtained final authorization to access a USD 1bn debtor-in-possession (DIP) facility with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The size of the DIP loan was increased to USD 1bn, from an initial USD 950m, following an agreement between the Brazilian airline, the holders of its USD 367m 8% senior secured 2026 bonds and the 2028 bondholders of Abra Group, the holding company for the operations of Gol and Colombia’s Avianca Holdings.

Source: Debtwire’s Restructuring Database

Other court developments of interest last month involving Latin American distressed companies included (i) Sete Brasil’s judicial manager asking the court to declare the Brazilian shipbuilder insolvent; (ii) Mexican non-bank lender Credito Real disclosing the illustrative distributable value under its restructuring plan for unsecured creditors; and (iii) a Mexican bankruptcy court issuing the creditor recognition ruling for Tangelo (formerly Mexarrend), another Mexican distressed non-bank lender.

The month ahead