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Regulator removes Oi issue from meeting agenda after telco pushes back its own creditor meeting to vote on reorganisation plan
Brazil’s telecom regulator is still considering the possibility of cancelling the operating licences of fixed and mobile operator Oi, but it has pushed back the discussion on that issue in light of the telco’s ongoing attempts to agree a recovery plan with creditors.
Anatel on Thursday announced it removed the issue from its meeting agenda following Oi’s announcement that it had won court approval to delay a creditor meeting scheduled for next month.
"Due to the information recently brought to my attention and the necessary prudence that the case requires…I requested the removal of the matter from the agenda of this meeting of the board of directors," Anatel advisor Leonardo Euler de Morais said, in a statement.
"In view of the ongoing judicial process, which may even culminate in the bankruptcy decree, the continuity services provided and the integrity of the Brazilian telecommunications market is reason for maximum attention and zeal by this regulatory entity," the executive said.
The regulator did not suggest a timeframe for picking up the discussion around Oi’s licences, other than to say that it will happen "soon" either in an ordinary or extraordinary meeting.
The announcement came after Oi revealed that the Judicial Reorganization Court had approved its request to delay a meeting of its creditors.
The telco said the court gave the go-ahead for it to push back its first meeting by 15 days to 23 October and a second session to 27 November.
Oi is seeking to set out a reorganisation plan that will appease creditors and enable it to exit bankruptcy protection, under which it has been operating since mid-2016.
A key issue still to be resolved is the presence of Anatel among the telco’s creditors.
Oi owes the regulatory a sizeable amount – in excess of 11 billion reais (€2.9 billion), according to a report by Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC) – in unpaid fines.
Anatel does not want to be included as a creditor in Oi’s plan and has threatened to vote against the plan should the courts not back its position, the state-owned TV company explained.
On a related note, Anatel on Thursday shared details of new fines it has imposed on certain telcos, Oi being amongst them.
The regulatory penalised Oi to the tune of BRL2.1 million for failing to meet fixed-line universal service targets in the Itapoã region in the Federal District in 2004 and 2005. It also imposed a BRL1.5 million fine for failing to comply with various obligations in the state of Acre, also in the fixed telephony business.
