SAO PAULO: Raizen SA bondholders and bank creditors are asking for a stake of as much as 90% of the company in exchange for 45% of its debt in a restructuring, according to people familiar with the matter.
That’s higher than the 70% stake that Raizen has proposed for creditors to receive in a potential debt-to-equity swap, said the people, who asked not to be identified citing private negotiations.
As controllers Shell Plc and Cosan SA resist a push from creditors to inject more money into Raizen, banks including Itau Unibanco Holding SA and Banco Bradesco SA are even threatening to stop lending to other Cosan companies if a more favourable solution for creditors isn’t reached, the people said.
Lenders have also been pushing for more of a say in how the Brazilian biofuels giant is managed.
Raizen, a joint venture of Cosan and Shell, filed for an out-of-court restructuring in March with a 65 billion-real debt load.
Since then, the company has been negotiating with creditors to strike a restructuring deal and avoid having to file for bankruptcy protection.
Cosan, which also owns railway, natural gas and lubricant businesses, ended December with net debt of 9.7 billion reais.
That was 46% lower than the previous quarter, since the company received a 4.5 billion-real capital injection late in 2025 from investors including BTG Pactual Holding, an investment vehicle for partners at the bank.
While Rubens Ometto, the founder of Cosan, retains control of the voting rights through a 50.01% stake via Aguassanta, BTG’s partners became the largest economic shareholders after the deal, with almost 25%. During the meetings with creditors, controlling shareholders have resisted a push from debtholders to commit to inject even more money into Raizen, people said last week.
Raizen has been hammered by high interest rates, large investments that have yet to pay off and operational hurdles in its sugar and ethanol divisions, leading to a string of earnings misses. Restructuring negotiations are expected to continue in the coming days. — Bloomberg
