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Brazil's Americanas faces extended bankruptcy battle with creditors -sources



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By Carolina Pulice

SAO PAULO, March 30 (Reuters) -Brazilian retailer Americanas SA AMER3.SA, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January, faces resistance from key creditors to a reorganization plan that could lead to a haircut of up to 80% on their claims, three people with knowledge of the matter said.

The plan, submitted last week to a Rio de Janeiro court, would include a capital injection of 10 billion reais ($1.95 billion) from its top shareholders announced earlier this month.

The billionaire trio that founded 3G Capital - which controls consumer goods giants like Kraft Heinz Co KHC.O and Anheuser Busch Inbev ABI.BR - owns about a third of Americanas.

The amount offered under the reorganization plan falls short of what some debt holders were hoping for, according to three people who declined to be named because they are involved in the negotiations.

"Creditors are more interested in what shareholders can pay, in particular if they can push them harder," one of the people said.

The proposal is seen as an "absurd" by some, given that it foresees such large creditor discounts with such powerful shareholders, a second person said.

Americanas, which runs of chain of brick and mortar stores and one of Brazil's largest e-commerce retailers, was thrown into crisis early this year by the disclosure of some 20 billion reais of accounting inconsistencies.

Americanas said it holds creditor debts of around 43 billion reais ($8.2 billion).

While the reorganization's filing triggered a brief rally in Americanas shares on hopes that it could provide a road map for recovery, the company faces protracted talks with creditors unhappy about the losses they face, the people told Reuters.

The crucial "class 3" creditors, comprising debenture holders and banks that represent around 37 billion reais of credit, are likely to demand changes in the proposal such as a smaller haircut, the people said.

According to Brazil's judicial recovery law, creditors have up to 30 days to lodge their objections after the plan is presented.

The billionaires, known as the "reference shareholders," are also seen as likely to push back.

The "reference shareholders" have suffered huge losses as a result of the accounting irregularities, a spokeperson said.

They had known nothing about the issue, the spokesperson reiterated, adding that their priority was "to reach a balanced agreement that will secure the company's future."

Americanas said in a statement it had created various debt payment alternatives for creditors of different sizes, natures and interests, adding that the plan was subject to adjustments and had included "interactions with major creditors".

The plan submitted to a local court this month proposed a reverse auction to settle debts with unsecured and financial creditors who would agree to receive a full settlement of all or part of their claims at a discount of at least 70%.

A repurchase of unsecured claims, as well as the issuance of simple debentures and other debt restructuring options were also offered.

Only creditors that are not suing Americanas will be able to participate in those proposals, according to the plan. For creditors who decide to sue the retailer, the plan proposes a discount of 80% to be paid in March 2043.

The company must win approval for the plan from the majority of its creditors in time for a general meeting expected by this semester.

Aurelio Valporto, who heads the Brazilian investor group Abradin and has asked the country's securities watchdog CVM to investigate the company, its executives and accounting firm PwC, said the treatment given to "class 3" creditors was unreasonable and "disrespectful."

"All the confidence the banks showed by providing unsecured loans to Americanas was repaid with a failure in the billions of dollars," he said. "It's clear that this plan won't be approved."

Not every aspect of the plan is controversial. Most of Americanas' creditors are expected to back the planned sale of some of its assets, such as Hortifruti Natural da Terra and Grupo Uni Co, a fifth person said.

There had been a "positive tone" to talks in recent days, the person added.

($1 = 5.1626 reais)



Reporting by Carolina Pulice; Additional Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Editing by Christian Plumb and Jonathan Oatis

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