Rio Appeals Court Upholds Ambipar’s 30-Day Creditor Freeze

Overview

• The Rio de Janeiro court kept in place a medida cautelar that halts creditor collections for 30 days, extendable once, and suspends clauses that could accelerate debts.
• Deutsche Bank had appealed the relief, which stems from derivative contracts linked to green bonds arranged through Ambipar Lux.
• Six lenders—ABC Brasil, Bradesco, Banco do Brasil, Santander, Sumitomo Tsui Brasileiro and Itaú Unibanco—asked the lower court to move the case to São Paulo and to revoke the stay, citing roughly R$2 billion in exposure.
• Banco Sumitomo, holding more than R$450 million in debt of an Ambipar subsidiary, separately petitioned to overturn the measure, arguing it overreaches to 353 related entities and questioning a reported R$4.7 billion cash balance.
• Ambipar attributes the court move to a Deutsche Bank demand for collateral on a US$35 million loan that it says could trigger about R$10 billion in accelerations, as it prepares a restructuring plan and is reported to have hired BR Partners, with a separate report naming Seneca Evercore that the firm denied.