Banks and bondholders accounting for more than half of Oi SA’s debt of 65.4 billion reais ($20 billion) are considering proposing a 5-year grace period and lower borrowing costs to speed up the Brazilian phone carrier’s in-court reorganization, a person with direct knowledge of the talks said, Reuters reported. The person, who requested anonymity because the discussions are preliminary and remain confidential, said the bondholder group advised by Moelis & Co and a number of lenders, including state-run Banco do Brasil SA and China Development Bank Corp, are discussing several options to provide Oi with a debt relief plan. Oi, Brazil’s No. 1 fixed-line phone carrier, filed in June for the country’s largest ever in-court reorganization plan after it ran out of time to reorganize operations and restructure liabilities during a harsh recession. Oi owes 17 billion reais to banks and about 35 billion reais to bondholders.
