That paved the way for an agreement between the banks and the Americanas

The last week has been marked by a strange fact in the dispute between Americanas and its major creditors. Bradesco agreed to raise the white flag and suspend the early production of evidence it had been moving against the company since January. The truce has been confirmed by the courts and is valid until November 24. And what was the reason for the truce? Simple: the trio of top shareholders of the retailer, formed by billionaires Jorge Paulo Leman, Carlos Alberto Sicupira and Marcel Telles, decided to put their hands in their pockets, and a deal between the parties has never been so close.

The main change in the negotiations was revealed in a material fact, which was published on September 10 in the Americanas market. The first paragraph of the text specifies that the main shareholders have undertaken to alleviate the situation of the company by means of a short-term capital increase with money amounting to R$ 12 billion.

This means that the shareholders will invest this amount in the company in exchange for shares. However, this amount must be deducted from the 1.5 billion reais already loaned to the trio as part of the retailer’s foreclosure lawsuit that began in January. In other words, in practice there is R $ 10.5 billion of new money.

Americanas’ previous offer had forecast a shareholder payout of R$10 billion, with two other rounds of R$1 billion each, but with longer terms and both depending on factors such as debt development and the company’s cashier situation. That amount now goes into the company’s coffers “as soon as the share offering happens,” he said Metropolises a source familiar with the negotiations and “it changes the negotiations.”

Stock debt

The second article of material fact of September 10 also established that the creditors will also participate in the capitalization of the debt of R$ 12 billion, as part of the legal process of collection. This means that whoever is in line to receive money from the retailer will be able to exchange debt for shares up to that amount. This is not new money, but it significantly reduces the total debt.

In addition, according to the negotiated agreement, such mechanisms as a reverse auction and early repayment of debts with discounts will operate. If all negotiation points progress positively, Americanas current debt, estimated at 42 billion reais, will be reduced to 1.875 billion reais. To repay the remaining amount, the company proposes to issue a new bond, a debt security, with new terms and market conditions.

Strong pressure

In court and behind the scenes in negotiations, Americanas was under intense pressure from creditors. The action suspended last week by Bradesco, for example, conducted an audit of e-mails and other documents shared by the company’s top management over the past ten years. The purpose of the sweep, now suspended, was to identify those responsible for an accounting fraud of R$20 billion revealed in the company’s balance sheet disclosed to the market in early January.

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