(Bloomberg) -- Brazilian cement maker InterCement Participacoes SA filed for protection from creditors just days before a dollar-bond payment was due.
The company is seeking to enter a mediation process with some creditors and presented an urgent request for precautionary protection in a Sao Paulo court, according to a statement Monday. The request seeks to shield the company from creditors for up to 60 days, according to the firm.
InterCement struggles with a heavy debt burden and has $750 million in bonds maturing on Wednesday. Local creditors, which own the majority of the debt, have been extending a standstill agreement with the company.
The cement maker was trying to reach a sale to steelmaker Companhia Siderurgica Nacional SA, and talks are still ongoing according to local newspaper Estado, even after the exclusive negotiation period ended without an agreement.
InterCement was hit by high interest rates in Brazil, its biggest market. The manufacturer ended the first quarter with net debt at around 7 billion reais ($1.3 billion), up 11% from a year earlier. Asset sales in Africa weren’t enough to allay fears over its capital structure, deemed “unsustainable” by Fitch Ratings.
The company’s bonds last traded near 66 cents on the dollar, according to Trace data.
(Updates with details on creditor-protection request in second paragraph.)
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