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acu shipbuilding

Batista Shipbuilder OSX Offers To Pay Debt In 25 Years

Reuters
Total Views: 18
May 17, 2014

The grounds of the future Açu Shipbuilding Unit (UCN Açu), image: OSX

reuters_logo1RIO DE JANEIRO, May 16 (Reuters) – Brazil’s OSX Brasil SA , the bankrupt shipbuilder controlled by former billionaire Eike Batista, presented a plan to a Brazilian judge on Friday to pay $2.6 billion ($1.2 billion) in debt over 25 years.

Under the plan, OSX will start repaying the bulk of its debts after three years, the company said in a statement. It also allows the company to seek new capital, including the sale of stakes to new investors.

The company said it hopes to generate new revenue by finding partners interested in using areas it owns at the giant Port of Acu complex north of Rio de Janeiro.

Rio de Janeiro-based OSX filed for bankruptcy protection in November as part of the unraveling of the once high-flying EBX Group of oil, electricity, port, shipbuilding and mining companies that Batista assembled during an economic boom in Brazil that fizzled in 2011. The group, once worth more than $60 billion, has seen its value nearly evaporate in the last two years.

Despite the plan’s three-year grace period for repayment, OSX Brasil will set aside 25,000 reais to be divided among all creditors within a year of the plan’s approval. This will repay obligations to about half the individuals and companies owed money by OSX Brasil, the statement said.

Another 80,000 reais will be paid within a year to creditors of OSX Brasil subsidiary OSX Construcao Naval, covering about half the individuals and companies owed money by the unit. All creditors of OSX Brasil unit OSX Servicos Operacionais, will be paid within a year.

The $2.6 billion owed by OSX Brasil includes debts with the company’s oil-production-ship-leasing unit that was not included in the company’s November filing for bankruptcy protection with a Rio de Janeiro court

OSX Brasil gets all of its revenue from the lease of oil production ships to Oleo e Gas Participacoes SA. Oleo e Gas is, formerly known as OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA, is the oil and gas unit of Batista’s EBX Group. When Oleo e Gas failed to meet production targets, it filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2013 and was followed by OSX Brasil less than two weeks later.

At the time of its bankruptcy filing, OSX sought to restructure a debt of 5.34 billion reais ($2.42 billion).

($1 = 2.21 Brazilian reais) (Reporting by Juliana Schincariol, Paulo Prada and Jeb Blount; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and William Hardy)

(c) 2014 Thomson Reuters, All Rights Reserved

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