The Brazilian Attorney General Office ruled to strike-off half of operator Oi’s fines totalling BRL14.3 billion ($2.7 billion) owed to watchdog Anatel, a major boost for the debt-ridden operator.
In a statement, Anatel said in a statement the agreement guarantees the regulator a payment of BRL7.2 billion from Oi, after applying a law that enables corporations to restructure judicially and settle 50pc of debts with payment in instalments of up to 84 months.
The Brazilian operator said in a statement: “The agreement represents the conclusion of an important stage of Oi's Judicial Reorganization Plan and allows for the termination of a large number of judicial proceedings, which eliminates the legal uncertainty that these disputes represented for the Company.”
Oi is currently in the process of selling assets to raise capital for debts. Its mobile asset is the prize for rivals Claro and local units of Telefonica and TIM, all three launched a joint bid of BRL16.5 billion which was accepted after exceeding the company’s BRL15 billion target.
