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☆ Brazil's BTG gets court decision reversing part of Americanas' protection from creditors
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SAO PAULO, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian bank BTG Pactual obtained a court decision on Wednesday overturning part of Americanas SA's (AMER3.SA) protection from creditors, according to court documents seen by Reuters, in a move the retailer says "harms its viability". BTG confirmed the decision in a securities filing, but did not give details. Americanas told Reuters in a statement that the "unilateral action taken by its creditors harms its viability", adding it was still seeking a short-term solution for its creditors. Later on Wednesday, Brazilian lender Bradesco (BBDC4.SA) said it had asked a Rio de Janeiro court to only allow Americanas to withdraw funds from the bank with prior approval. Americanas confirmed that Bradesco withheld more than 450 million reais ($86.77 million) from the company's cash position, "acting in disagreement with the injunction" the retailer had obtained protecting it from creditors.

Americanas on Tuesday disclosed that it did not pay interest due on Monday of more than 2 billion reais ($392 million) in local bonds. It made the disclosure in a filing responding to a question by securities regulator CVM, saying that it was allowed not to pay under the injunction. Fitch said that if Americanas formally announces a debt restructuring plan, its ratings will be downgraded to RD or D reflecting a default. Fitch said the retailer, backed by the billionaire founders of 3G Capital, has an unsustainable capital structure with the addition of an estimated 20 billion reais in previously undisclosed liabilities. The company last year paid 516.6 million reais in dividends related to the results in 2021, according to securities filings.

SAO PAULO, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Brazilian lenders BTG Pactual, Bradesco and Santander Brasil are among those most exposed to debt of Americanas SA (AMER3.SA), analysts' estimates showed on Monday, after the retailer obtained an injunction protecting it from creditors. Analysts at JPMorgan and Citi said in research notes that Banco Bradesco SA (BBDC4.SA) had the largest nominal exposure to the firm, while Banco BTG Pactual SA topped exposure as a proportion of loans. Considering JPMorgan's and Citi's estimates, BTG had a 1.9 billion-real exposure to Americanas, which was seen accounting for roughly 1.5% of its loans, while Bradesco had exposure of 4.7 billion reais, or 0.5% of loans. Banco Santander Brasil SA , the local unit of Spain's Banco Santander (SAN.MC), had 3.7 billion reais in exposure, or about 0.6% of loans. Sergio Rial, the outgoing Americanas chief executive who uncovered the accounting inconsistencies, is a former head of Santander Brasil, where he still serves as chairman of the board.

☆ Minority shareholders denounce Brazil's Americanas for 'multi-billion fraud'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Rodrigo Viga Gaier | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - A group representing minority shareholders on Friday filed a complaint with Brazil's securities regulator against Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) after the retailer uncovered "accounting inconsistencies" totaling 20 billion reais ($3.89 billion). The Abradin association said it was denouncing Americanas for what it called a "multi-billion fraud," while also asking regulator CVM to investigate the retailer's auditor, PwC. Shares in Americanas plummeted more than 75% on Thursday, wiping out 8.4 billion reais in market value, after the company's chief executive Sergio Rial resigned, citing the discovery of inconsistencies. It's not easy to hide 20 billion reais," said Eric Barreto, a professor at Sao Paulo's Insper. Americanas has long been controlled by three Brazilian billionaires who founded 3G Capital.

SAO PAULO/MEXICO CITY, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) said on Wednesday its chief executive and chief financial officer resigned after the discovery of around 20 billion reais ($3.88 billion) in accounting "inconsistencies." Lojas Americanas CEO Sergio Rial departed less than two weeks after taking the job, when he replaced Miguel Gutierrez. Joao Guerra, a long-time Americanas executive not involved with accounting or financial management, will take over as CEO on an interim basis. The amount of accounting inconsistencies is larger than the company´s net equity, 15 billion reais, said Fabrício Gonçalvez, CEO at Box Asset Management. The amount is also almost twice Americanas' 10.7 billion reais market capitalization, according to Refinitiv data.

SAO PAULO, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Shares in Brazilian retailer Americanas SA (AMER3.SA) fell more than 75% on Thursday after its chief executive officer resigned citing the discovery of "accounting inconsistencies" totaling 20 billion reais ($3.9 billion). Rial attributed the inconsistencies to differences in accounting for the financial cost of bank loans and debt with suppliers. The outgoing CEO said Americanas would likely need a capital increase, though noted he didn't expect a short-term impact from the inconsistencies on its cash position. Analysts at Santander and JPMorgan, who rated Americanas "Neutral" and "Underweight" respectively, also forecast a major negative reaction to the news. PwC, Americanas' auditor, declined to comment on the accounting inconsistencies referred to by Rial.

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