Oi's creditors' assembly adjourned for December 19; Justice Takes Tanure Away From Trading

© Reuters. Assembleia de credores da Oi é adiada para 19 de dezembro; Justiça afasta Tanure da negociação

Scheduled for next 7, Oi's creditors' meeting (SA: OIBR4) was postponed to December 19 and may extend until the 20th. This is the fifth time that the meeting is postponed. The decision was made by Judge Fernando Viana, of the 7th Business Court of Rio de Janeiro, who leads the judicial recovery of Oi, due to the change of the president of the operator. In the ruling, the judge also reduced the powers of businessman Nelson Tanure, who had been commanding the company's board and negotiations. The situation of Oi, which is in judicial recovery with a debt of R $ 64 billion, involves the government of Michel Temer for the strategic importance of the company and for its debts with the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel).

The second call is scheduled for February 1, 2018. Last Monday, Oi confirmed the name of the legal director Eurico de Jesus Teles Neto as the company's new acting CEO. The decision was made after Marco Schroeder left the post on Friday (24). "With the recent news of the resignation of the president of Grupo OI, I see that the climate of institutional instability is worsening even more," said the judge in the decision.
Small lenders

Viana also argued that the postponement aims to facilitate closure according to small creditors of the company, who have up to $ 50,000 to receive. According to Oi, so far the company has closed more than 30,000 agreements with this group, reducing the list of creditors who will need to vote in the meeting. Oi has 67 thousand creditors, of which 57 thousand are of low values.

Smaller power for Tanure
In the decision issued yesterday (29), the judge also authorized the new president of Oi to negotiate with the creditors an alternative recovery plan, "independent of the approval of the board of directors." In practice, the decision limits the actions of the shareholders in the negotiation of the plan, reducing the power of the businessman Nelson Tanure, who had been commanding the company in practice. "The current president of Grupo Oi, Eurico Teles, as personal responsible to conduct and complete negotiations with creditors of this recovery until 12/12/2017, on which date he must personally present to this magistrate the recovery plan that will be object vote in the General Meeting of Creditors, regardless of approval by the Board of Directors, "said the magistrate.

In the same decision, the judge maintained an injunction that determines that the directors appointed by Tanure, the former minister of communications Hélio Costa and João Vicente Ribeiro must refrain from interfering in any way in the judicial recovery.
Recuperation plan

On Tuesday (28), the National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL) ordered the suspension of any Oi agreement with creditors regarding the company's Judicial Recovery Plan. The decision was made after the company filed with the regulatory agency the contract support for the judicial recovery plan (PSA).

The agreement would be a kind of addition to the company's judicial recovery plan, which provides for a capital increase in Oi. For the agency, which had previously expressed a restriction on PSA issues, the proposal submitted by Oi's controllers maintains "a interests of the company and of the collectivity ".

According to Anatel, clauses were identified that generate uncertainties about the company's capital increase. Another controversial point of the agreement refers to clauses that would restrict any intervention by Anatel in the company, in the event of withdrawal of "cash obligations" from the telephone box by shareholders.
With information from Agência Brasil.