The restructure of Atvos, a Brazilian biofuel producer, was awarded Restructure of the Year in Latin America, with judges citing the size and complexity of the transaction.

Members of the judging panel said the reorganization of Atvos was one of the largest and most complex Brazil has ever faced. It required negotiations with a high level of complexity.

The company, the former sugar and ethanol division of Odebrecht (now Novonor), completed its judicial recovery process in September (2023).

The restructure saw the issuance of debentures totaling BRL6.8 billion ($1.12bn) by Soneva (an SPE used by Mubadala Group), enabling the acquisition of a 90% stake in Atvos Bioenergia and a further injection of BRL 500 million to fund its operations.

As part of the restructure, Atvos planned to invest BRL1.6 billion in its operations to increase its ethanol production.

At the time, the company said: “The global biofuels market has great growth potential. Because of that, we have a solid plan that seeks to increase the productivity rates of our current portfolio and reach the milestone of 32 million metric tons of sugarcane crushed over the next years.” 

According to the submission, the transaction faced significant challenges, including litigation over Atvos’ control and competition from other interested parties. The judges said the advisers overcame these challenges with innovative legal solutions, facilitating the structuring of the debenture issuance and the negotiation of subscription warrants.

The judges were also impressed with advisers’ approach to the reduction of Atvos’ debt and extended maturities to 2043. 

Advisers on the transaction:

• Machado Meyer – legal to Unibanco and Banco Bradesco
• Pinheiro Neto Advogados – legal to Soneva Energias Renováveis and Mubadala Capital