Court accepts Ambipar’s request for judicial recovery

The 3rd Business Court of Rio de Janeiro accepted Ambipar group’s request for judicial recovery on Thursday (30). The first instance decision was made by Judge Caroline Rossy Brandão Fonseca, who acts in substitution of the natural judge of the process. In a statement, Ambipar’s press office stated that the approval of the judicial recovery marks the beginning of the legal 180-day period during which executions and collections will be suspended, the so-called ‘stay period.’ The request was conducted with the assistance of Salomão Advogados, Galdino Advogados, and Basílio Advogados law firms. During this phase, the press office also highlighted, Ambipar will present the judicial recovery plan, which will define the conditions, stages, and timeline of the restructuring process. ‘The company emphasizes that its operations remain fully preserved, with maintenance of contracts, jobs, and timely payments, without any impact on customers, suppliers, and business partners,’ the text says. On Monday (27), the 21st Private Law Chamber of the TJ-RJ (Court of Rio de Janeiro) had already confirmed the competence of the Rio de Janeiro justice system to conduct the judicial recovery of Ambipar group, a forum that is disputed by banks affected by the company’s financial crisis. The rapporteur judge Mauro Pereira Martins had also accepted the request for judicial recovery, but on a provisional and monocratic basis—that is, it was a temporary decision that needs to be confirmed by the collegiate. The first instance decision recognized that Ambipar group is in an economic-financial crisis due to poor management, allegedly attributed to the former financial director of the company, João Arruda, and the alteration of swap contracts with Deutsche Bank, which introduced, according to the company’s defense, a ‘speculative nature element’ in this instrument. In another legal process and in the criminal sphere, Arruda denies these accusations and states that he is being used as a scapegoat to justify irregular procedures carried out by the founder and controller, Tércio Borlenghi Junior, and his group of executives. The judge also understood that the judicial recovery is necessary to protect Ambipar group from cascading losses that would be triggered by the financial crisis. The decision highlights that the company has shown that it maintains payroll, obligations to suppliers, financial institutions, and an annual payment of approximately R$500 million in taxes. According to Ambipar’s press office, ‘the decision represents an important step in the financial restructuring process of the group, ensuring the full continuity of operations, the preservation of over 23,000 direct jobs, and the implementation of measures aimed at economic rebalancing, given estimated liabilities of approximately R$10.5 billion.’