Bradesco and Americanas are close to reaching an agreement and agree to suspend the operation

Lawyers Bradesco They agreed to suspend the process of submitting evidence in advance of their claim against the company for 180 days American stores Its shareholders are Jorge Paulo Lehmann, Marcel Telles and Carlos Alberto Secupira. This action was the main front page of the dispute between the bank and the retailer’s controllers.

The request to suspend the action was submitted by Americanas advocates on Tuesday the 17th. Hours later, the bank registered its response in the Second Regional Court for Commercial Jurisdiction and Disputes Related to Arbitration.

The Americanas fraud left a R$20 billion hole in retailers’ accounts. Both Americanas and LTS (the company that manages the business of the company’s three reference shareholders) deny that the trio participated in the day-to-day management or knew of the fraud in the company. The retailer’s total debt, which is in the judicial recovery phase, amounts to R$42 billion.

Bradesco’s balances amount to just over 10% of this total, or about R$4.7 billion. It is around these numbers that the bank and the retailer are waging the legal battle in the Second Court of São Paulo. Hey condition He contacted representatives of Americanas and LTS, but has yet to receive a response regarding the appeal from the bank.

Americana tried to suspend early production of tests on other occasions and always faced Bradesco’s response. Last time, in September, the retailer claimed to be suspicious of the expert appointed by the court to analyze its documents: Kroll Associates.

Hey condition It found that Tuesday’s move by the bank and the retailer shows that the two sides are close to reaching an agreement on the R$4 billion debt the retailer owes to the bank.

The order in which the action is suspended is related to The relevant truth was revealed on the tenth day From October by Americana to Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM)When the terms of capitalization of the new company were announced. Both the retailer’s request and the bank’s response to the action taken in São Paulo show this.

In their petition to the court, the retailer’s lawyers stated: “In this context, and in light of significant progress towards a consensual resolution of the disputes, the parties have agreed to suspend the ongoing proceedings.”

In related fact, the company informed that in a new meeting with the banks, the company, which is in the judicial recovery phase, in Rio, maintained the debt capitalization plan worth R$12 billion and will issue new debt worth R$1,875. One billion dollars to refinance part of the existing competitive debt. But there is one change that has pleased banks: the change in the form of capitalization.

Previously, Americanas proposed a contribution of R$10 billion by the three shareholders. The remaining amount of R$2 billion will be obtained through possible capitalization in the future, which will depend on the financial performance of the company. Under the new proposal, R$2 billion will also be contributed in the short term, without conditions.

According to the petition submitted by the retailer’s lawyer, the 180-day suspension will allow negotiations to continue between the two parties in search of a compromise solution. The bank’s response quickly reached the court, as shown in the petition filed by lawyer Ana Teresa Basilio, who is defending the retailer.

“Bradesco understands that this early production of evidence is in no way related to the retailer’s judicial recovery, nor to a potential agreement that may be concluded between the company and its creditors, in order to avoid delaying or in any way damaging the company.” The ongoing agreement negotiations between Americanas and its creditors express its agreement to the request for comment submitted by the defendant (Americans)“Walfredo Jorge Ward Jr., the lawyer representing the bank, wrote.

At the same time, the bank requested that the suspension does not mean the extinction of the procedure. Americana had requested hours ago to suspend the procedure for 180 days, indicating actual progress in negotiations with its creditors, including Bradesco, to restructure its debts. Part of the resources that shareholders will invest in the company – R$8.7 billion in cash – will be allocated to the early repurchase of competitive debt at a discount.

The parties agreed to suspend the process on the same day that Kroll’s experts submitted a three-page list containing nine items of information that they had asked the court to hand over by Americanas.

In the process, Bradesco stated, it became increasingly clear “that the shareholders of reference and the members of the Board of Directors of Americanas were not only extensively involved in the management of the company and had absolute interference in the management of its accounts, but, more importantly, that they knew, in As early as mid-2022, the community was experiencing a serious liquidity crisis and that a $1 billion capital injection was needed very soon. Americanas accused Warde Advogados of maintaining ties with Kroll and asked to suspect the company as an expert, which the courts denied.

See below the statements of Americanas and Bradesco regarding the suspension of the operation between the two companies.