SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional is preparing a takeover bid for Samarco Mineração, which will be presented to the bankruptcy court judge overseeing the miner’s debt restructuring, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
CSN hired restructuring firm RK Partners to draft a proposal to buy control of Samarco, the source said, requesting anonymity to disclose private discussions.
The newspaper O Globo reported on Sunday CSN’s interest in Samarco.
RK Partners is contacting Samarco’s owners, Vale and BHP, as well as unions and financial creditors, the source said.
An agreement may not be easy, according to the source, due to Samarco’s liabilities related to the 2015 disaster in the city of Mariana (MG).
Shareholders who have pledged to pay damages may resist any proposal to relinquish control of operations while retaining that responsibility.
Samarco, Vale and creditor representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. BHP and press representatives from the financial creditors group declined to comment.
The judge overseeing Samarco’s bankruptcy has scheduled a mediation hearing for Tuesday between two groups that have presented competing restructuring proposals, one led by creditors and the other by unions with support from Vale and BHP.
According to a document filed by Samarco with the bankruptcy court and seen by Reuters, the mining company is asking the bankruptcy judge to reject the proposed plan by creditors for “inconsistencies”.
Samarco’s lawyers say the 96% reduction in the 23 billion reais debt owed to creditors is subject to tax and would create a $1.5 billion tax liability that was not assessed in the plan. Representatives for the creditors did not immediately comment on the matter.
(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer)
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