Brazilian pellet producer Samarco, a 50/50 joint venture between Vale and BHP Billiton, is reportedly considering swapping its multi-billion-dollar debt to equity in the company, according to a media report from Bloomberg.
Samarco would be willing to swap up to $8.8 billion in debt for shares in the company, according to unnamed sources. The company could offer shares to settle $2.8 billion in foreign bonds, $1.9 billion of loans and $4.1 billion it owns to its parent companies, the sources said.
The media report noted Samarco has not been paying its debts since 2016. As reported by SteelOrbis, the company filed recently for bankruptcy protection, and claimed it has tried to resume talks with investors to settle its debt.