Fourth Batista company goes bankrupt

Eike Batista, Chairman of EBX Group | Screen capture from Valor

Resources tycoon Eike Batista founded oil and gas explorer OGX a mere five years ago with $1.3 billion the flamboyant Brazilian raised from private investors.

Batista’s fortune topped out at an eye-watering $32.8bn in April 2012 when the first wells of OGX, the flagship of his five public “X” companies, went into production.

Eighteen months later OGX collapsed in what was Latin America’s largest corporate default in history dragging down his iron ore, coal and numerous other ventures with it.

Bloomberg reports Wednesday that Batista’s Eneva SA, a Brazilian power utility has also filed for bankruptcy protection, becoming his fourth venture to seek creditor protection in just over a year.

Batista set up Eneva as MPX Energia SA in 2001 and electricity giant EON bought a 10% stake in 2011 for $327 million. The German utility company twice injected new money into Rio de Janeiro-based Eneva, raising its stake to 43% and reducing Batista’s to 20%.

Batista is currently on trial for insider trading and market manipulation for dumping OGX stock before anyone else knew that the offshore oil company’s wells were mostly dry.

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