The 7th Corporate Court of the Judicial District of the State Capital of Rio de Janeiro has granted bankruptcy protection for troubled Brazilian telecoms giant Oi, the telco has confirmed. Going forward, the company now has 60 business days to present a recovery plan for creditors.
As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, Oi filed the largest bankruptcy protection request in Brazil’s history on 20 June, just days after debt restructuring talks with creditors collapsed. The filing by Oi and six subsidiaries listed BRL65.4 billion (USD19.2 billion) in debt, and covered the group and six of its subsidiaries.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the company’s total debt includes BRL15.4 billion in liabilities with regulators and tax authorities, while the rest of Oi’s debt is owed to international bondholders and local banks. The bondholders are owed around BRL34 billion, while the banks, including Banco do Brasil, the Brazilian Development Bank and Itau Unibanco Holdings are owed around BRL16 billion.