Brazilian Court Suspends Oi's Sale of V.tal Shares Worth R$4.5 Billion

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Brazilian telecom operator Oi's transaction to sell its remaining stake in V.tal has encountered a judicial obstacle. The reporting judge of the First Private Law Chamber of the Rio de Janeiro State Court (TJ-RJ) granted suspensive effect to appeals filed by three judicial reorganization creditors, temporarily halting the court's previous decision that approved the winning bid for the acquisition of V.tal's Independent Production Unit (UPI). The company informed the market of this decision on Sunday (28th).

According to a statement released by Oi, these sole rulings were made on June 26 by the reporting judge hearing appeals filed by UMB Bank N.A., SC Lowy Primary Investments Ltd., and specific funds under PIMCO. The appellants challenged the decision of the Seventh Corporate Court of the Rio de Janeiro Capital District, which approved the proposal by BTG Pactual-related funds and the consortium BGC Holding to acquire UPI V.tal for R$4.5 billion. With the granting of suspensive effect, the approval of the winning bid is temporarily blocked, pending a new ruling in the appeal process.

UPI V.tal consists of all shares held by Oi and its wholly-owned subsidiary Rio Alto Investimentos e Participações in V.tal – Rede Neutra de Telecomunicações. Previously, following a competitive process for the asset sale, the judicial reorganization court had approved the plan. The suspended decision pertains solely to the approval of the winning bid and does not affect other procedural steps.