Americanas informed the market that it is asking the Justice for the right to take an extra credit of R$ 1 billion. If granted, the reference shareholders – Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles and Beto Sicupira – also consider contributing a similar amount.
Known as DIP, this type of loan is granted by firms specializing in companies undergoing judicial recovery. With authorization from the Court, this money is used for the company to continue operating and has preference in receiving over other creditors when the company returns to pay its debts.
Americanas also says in the statement that creditor banks will be able to participate in the loan if they wish. However, there is now a strong tension between creditors and the company.
An important legal battle was established. “The Company has been discussing with its Reference Shareholders the possibility of them subscribing up to the entire Minimum Value.
The DIP Financing may eventually be replaced by new financing, convertible into Company shares, which will ensure the preemptive right of all shareholders.”, says the statement.
Judicial recovery
The company faces a crisis since, on January 11, it communicated to the market accounting inconsistencies around BRL 20 billion, leading the retailer to file a request for judicial recovery days later, which was accepted by the Justice.
The company disclosed debts of BRL 42 billion and 7,720 official creditors, as requested by the Justice of Rio de Janeiro. The process became the 4th largest judicial recovery in Brazil.
More than half of the company’s debt is with the largest Brazilian banks. There are more than R$ 22 billion divided among just nine banks. Deutsche Bank accounts for the largest exposure to the retailer, of US$ 1 billion dollars (R$ 5.2 billion).
In addition to banks, there are even technology companies such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The document disclosed also contains debts with carriers, airlines, smaller service companies and thousands of individuals. Among the creditors to be received, there is even the Brazilian Ambev, which belongs to the same reference shareholders of Americanas: Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles and Carlos Alberto Sicupira.
Diapers, shampoo, chocolate and gummy candies in the shape of dentures that cost a few reais add up to a millionaire debt with all the company’s major suppliers. Among the big brands, one of the debts that draws the most attention is with the South Korean Samsung, which has R$ 1.209 billion to receive from Americanas.
The tax debt, according to the Attorney General of the National Treasury, Anelize Almeida, is R$ 657 million.
The retailer also filed a request for recognition of the judicial recovery process in the United States, known as “Chapter 15”, which works with protective effects (notably the suspension of payments to creditors) ensured in its judicial recovery process in Brazil.
The retailer hired Alvarez & Marsal to help coordinate the bankruptcy process.
This Tuesday, around 50 outsourced employees of Americanas were fired. The layoffs took place in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), São Paulo (SP) and Porto Alegre (RS).
Today the company has also filed a request in court to obtain the maintenance of electricity, water and sewage services in the process that deals with its judicial recovery.
On Friday (27), the trade union centrals filed a lawsuit in court to protect the labor rights of the approximately 44,000 employees of Americanas. For this, the action asks that the Justice extend the responsibilities for the crisis in the retailer to the main partners and requests the blocking of BRL 1.53 billion of the assets of Jorge Paulo Lemann, Carlos Alberto Sicupira and Marcel Telles for eventual payment in shares labor.
On Thursday (26), the Justice of São Paulo authorized the search and seizure of e-mails of directors and members of the Board of Directors and Audit of Americanas of the last ten years. The decision is a response to a request made by Bradesco.
The B3, the Brazilian stock exchange, excluded Americanas bonds (AMER3) from all its indices since Monday (23). In its last trading session listed on the Ibovespa, the company’s shares closed the day at R$0.71. In the trading session prior to the Material Fact of January 11, the quotation was R$ 12.
Source: CNN Brasil
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