Brazilian court clears BHP, Vale and Samarco of charges in 2015 dam disaster
A court in Belo Horizonte ruled that state prosecutors failed to prove that "individual actions" directly contributed to the collapse of the dam.
Brazilian miner Samarco filed a consensual judicial reorganization plan on Friday alongside some of its creditors with the intent of carrying out transactions contemplated in a previous agreement that established a discount on the value of the mining company’s debt, the company said on Saturday.
On 31 May, Samarco, a joint venture between Vale and BHP, had reached an agreement with most of its financial creditors that provided for a 25% discount on the amount of debt held by them, a step that was considered important for the company to be able to proceed with its judicial recovery process.
Under the terms of the consensual plan, Samarco will issue up to $3.566 million of new notes due in 2031 to certain of its financial creditors who elect to receive such new notes, in exchange for cancellation of their claims. These notes will pay interest of 9% to 9.5% per annum and will be unsecured.
Samarco may elect to pay interest in kind, in full through 2025 and in part in 2026 and 2027, according to the mining company. Thereafter, all interest will be paid in cash.
Financial creditors can elect an alternative treatment, exchanging their existing debt for a new debt instrument maturing in 2035.
(By Luana Maria Benedito and Steven Grattan; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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