Good morning! Today, a new chapter in the Americanas debacle. Brazil’s new libertarian party? And the government wades into an argument it shouldn’t be getting involved with.
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One of Brazil’s all-time great bankruptcy protection cases
In the darkest chapter of its 93-year history, major Brazilian retailer Americanas filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday. Eight days ago, the company reported “accounting inconsistencies” which sparked a bitter battle with creditors — after saying that its error could lead to “the early and immediate maturity of debts” worth BRL 43 billion (USD 8.3 billion).
Why it matters. In granting the company’s request for bankruptcy protection, a Rio de Janeiro business court said that Americanas going under could lead to “a collapse in Brazil’s supply chains, with considerable losses to relevant economic sectors, affecting over 50 million consumers and putting at risk [45,000] workers.”
State of play. Americanas burned through almost a quarter of the cash position it claimed to have in covering operational expenses. The company was on the cusp of shutting down after...