Americanas proposes a capital increase of R$4 billion

Americanas today submitted a new proposal to creditors that would increase the company’s capitalization by R$4 billion, reducing its leverage when the company emerges from judicial recovery.

According to the proposal, Jorge Paulo Lehmann, Beto Secupira and Marcel Telles will increase the immediate capital injection to be provided to the company from R$10 billion to R$12 billion, while the banks will increase it – also from R$10 billion to R$12 billion. 12 USD – the debt to which it will be transferred justice.

The terms were presented today at a meeting between the company’s Roberto Thompson (representative of the shareholders of reference) and the CEOs of the creditor banks.

The additional amount of R$2 billion was already expected in the previous proposal, but will be disbursed at the beginning of 2027 and the beginning of 2028 (R$1 billion in each period), depending on the liquidity and leverage measured in the previous year’s balance sheets. .

With this additional capital, and under the terms of the proposal submitted today, America will emerge from the judicial recovery with a total debt of just R$1.875 billion.

Today, the company’s total debt stands at R$42.3 billion, of which R$5.5 billion comes from suppliers, R$1.6 billion in cash from pending lawsuits, and R$35 billion from bank debt.

After transferring R$12 billion from banks, banks’ debts will decrease to R$23 billion.

After that, the plan expects the company to use R$2 billion to pay off the debt through a reverse auction, with a minimum discount of 70%. (Given this discount, these R$2 billion would make it possible to amortize R$6.7 billion, reducing the debt to R$16.5 billion).

In the next step, part of the debt will be refinanced into new debt, with a period of five years and a grace period of two years, for a total of R$1.875 billion – and this will become the company’s only debt after RJ.

The remaining bank debt – which now amounts to R$14.6 billion – will have value Initial payment 6.7 billion Brazilian reals; The debt balance disappears because Hair cut From banks.

The proposal shows progress in negotiations, and the company is working to submit the plan and vote on it before the end of the year, two people familiar with the matter said.

But creditors will only be able to comply with the plan after the company republishes audited balance sheets for 2021 and 2022, which BDO is restating and must file on the 31st.

According to a source close to the company, Americanas is considering submitting a strategic plan for the coming years, along with these balance sheets, with some sort of EBITDA guidance.

The company is working to submit the balance sheet for the first three quarters of the current year by the end of the current year.

Geraldo Samor and Pedro Arbex