Oi creditors' meeting and first payments confirmed

The Rio de Janeiro court in charge of Brazilian telco Oi's bankruptcy proceedings has given the company the green light to move ahead with its creditors' agreement program and negotiate with small creditors. The court also approved the dates suggested by Oi's judicial administrator for a general meeting of creditors.

The meeting, crucial to the company's fate, will be held at a major convention center in Rio. The first call was scheduled for October 9 and the second for October 23.

According to Oi, over 11,400 creditors have already signed up to the program, whose terms and registration can be accessed online. Further details on Oi's receivership can be obtained here, in Portuguese.

The program is expected to involve bringing forward payment of debts for up to 50,000 reais (US$16,000) for small creditors. Of Oi's estimated 55,000 creditors, about 53,000 are owed up to 50,000 reais, the company said.

Last week, groups of major bondholders said they had reached a consensus on new terms for a restructuring framework for Oi. Together, these big creditors claim to represent about 22.6bn reais of Oi's total debt.

ANATEL

The Rio court also ruled that Oi's debt to telecom regulator Anatel, at some 11bn reais, mainly in the form of unpaid fines, should not be excluded from the judicial recovery plan. The decision was well-received by Oi, but is a major blow to the watchdog.

Anatel, backed by Brazil's federal attorney general's office (AGU), had been claiming that this debt involves public credit and could therefore not be included in negotiations with private creditors.