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Grupo Casas Bahia Files for Judicial Recovery Amid R$ 17.3 Billion Debt

3 sources · Brazil

Who reported this

  • G1 Brazil · Centre-left · Grupo Globo (Marinho family)
  • CNN Brasil Brazil · Centre · Rubens Menin (MRV)
  • Folha de S.Paulo Brazil · Centre · Grupo Folha (Frias family)

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Every source for this story reports from Brazil.

Grupo Casas Bahia filed for judicial recovery in a São Paulo court on Sunday, declaring a total debt of R$ 17.3 billion. The request includes ten companies within the holding group, such as the Casas Bahia and Ponto Frio brands, the e-commerce site Extra.com, and the furniture manufacturer Bartira. The company reported a second quarter loss of R$ 10.1 billion, which is 18 times higher than the loss recorded in the same period last year. This financial crisis has led to the closure of nearly 300 stores and the dismissal of approximately 3,000 employees.

In its petition, the company attributed the crisis to a combination of heavy investments in technology and logistics since 2019, the impact of the pandemic on physical stores, and a sharp rise in interest rates. The company stated that its business model is highly dependent on working capital and consumer credit, making it vulnerable to inflation and high Selic rates. To prevent an immediate operational collapse, the group requested urgent measures, including a 180 day suspension of debt executions and the prevention of banks from seizing credit card and Pix receivables.

Following the announcement, shares of the company plummeted by approximately 30 percent on Monday, trading at cents per share. This marks a massive decline from the stock's peak in 2020, when it was valued at over R$ 400. Additionally, the company announced the resignation of its legal director, Fábio Spina, and two members of the Board of Directors, Jackson Medeiros de Farias Schneider and Rogério Paulo Calderón Peres.

This legal move follows a failed attempt at extrajudicial recovery in April 2024, which had restructured R$ 4.8 billion in financial debts. The company is now seeking a court mediated plan to reorganize its finances and avoid total bankruptcy.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
These reports emphasized the dramatic collapse of the stock price for investors and provided educational context on the legal difference between judicial recovery and bankruptcy.
Centre
These reports focused on the technical financial details of the debt, the specific legal requests for urgency, and the corporate governance changes.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.