Bondholder group asks for court to intervene in board of Brazil's Oi

Pharol SGPS SA

08/11/2017 22:24

By Gram Slattery 
    SAO PAULO, Nov 8 (Reuters) - The law firm representing a 
bondholder group in debt-laden Brazilian telecoms company Oi SA 
 OIBR4.SA  has asked a court to nullify decisions made by the 
company's board, according to a copy of the motion seen by 
Reuters on Wednesday. 
    The motion by law firms including Pinheiro Neto Advogados, 
which represents the so-called Ad Hoc Group of Oi Bondholders, 
asked the court in Rio de Janeiro to suspend appointments the 
board made on Friday of two members of Oi's management. 
    The filing also asks the court to suspend the voting rights 
of board members associated with major shareholders Pharol SGPS 
SA  PHRA.LS  and Nelson Tanure's Société Mundiale on any matters 
relating to the company's current debt restructuring. In the 
filing, the bondholders argued those groups have obstructed all 
attempts by the company to talk to creditors to the detriment of 
Oi, among other issues. 
    A spokesman for Tanure responded that the motion lacks legal 
founding. Oi and Pharol did not immediately respond to requests 
for comment. 
    Oi, Brazil's fourth largest telecoms company, filed for 
Latin America's largest ever bankruptcy proceeding last year, 
sagging under 65.4 billion reais ($20.1 billion) of debt. The 
restructuring process has been messy, with fighting between and 
among shareholders, bondholders and the government. 
    On Friday, Oi's board, which Tanure and Pharol control, 
appointed two new members to the company's management, allowing 
a restructuring plan approved by the board to be 
finalized. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nE6N1ML016 On Wednesday, however, Brazilian telecoms 
regulator Anatel demanded that plan be presented to the 
regulator before it is filed with a bankruptcy court. 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N1NC0KU 
    While a final creditor vote on the company's restructuring 
plan is scheduled for Friday, Brazilian public banks with debt 
in Oi requested on Wednesday that it be delayed, a government 
source told Reuters. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nE6N1ML01D Even if the meeting is 
officially convened, creditors may decide to delay a vote to a 
later date. 
    In the bondholders' filing on Wednesday, creditors also 
requested that the Oi board's most recent restructuring plan 
only be signed after the bankruptcy judge on the case reviews 
and approves it. 
 
($1 = 3.25 reais) 
 
 (Reporting by Gram Slattery; editing by Grant McCool) 
 ((gram.slattery@thomsonreuters.com)(;)) 
 
Keywords: OI SA RESTRUCTURING/