Brazilian telecoms operator Oi has hired multinational investment firm Bank of America Merrill Lynch to sell its non-core assets, including cell towers and datacentres, Reuters reports, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. The cash-strapped telco aims to raise between BRL1.5 billion and BRL2 billion (USD404 million-USD538 million) from the divestitures, the sources added.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Oi filed the largest bankruptcy request in Brazil’s history in June 2016, after failing to reach an agreement with its creditors. The filing, which covered Oi and six subsidiaries, listed BRL65.4 billion of debt and the company chose judicial reorganisation to preserve the value of its holdings and to continue providing services to its customers.