Abengoa Bioenergia Brasil files for bankruptcy protection

Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer Abengoa Bioenergia Brasil has filed for bankruptcy protection, according to Bloomberg.

This follows on from the country’s economic crisis and slump in commodity prices, according to the news agency.

The company, a unit of Spain’s Abengoa SA, requested judicial protection in a court in Santa Cruz das Palmeiras municipality, Sao Paulo state, according to a statement e-mailed to Bloomberg. Its bank debt was 837 million reais ($265 million) as of December.

The move followed unsuccessful attempts over the last 19 months to attract outside investors and restructure its debt, the media agency reporter. Abengoa Bioenergia also cited Brazil’s political crisis and a lack of credit as contributing factors to its bankruptcy.

The company runs two mills with a combined capacity to crush about 7 million metric tons a year of sugar-cane in Sao Paulo state, and it had been in advanced talks to sell them to E Fert, an United Arab Emirates-based investment firm controlled by Pakistani investors. According to Bloomberg, those negotiations ended in May after fiscal, labor and operating issues made a deal too risky for E Fert, people familiar with the matter said at the time.

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