Americanas’ top shareholders boost injection offer to $1.9 billion -Bloomberg News

(Reuters) – The top shareholders of retailer Americanas SA are informally offering a capital injection of 10 billion reais ($1.9 billion), Bloomberg reported on Thursday, after creditors rejected an initial offer of 7 billion reais.

Americanas entered bankruptcy protection in January after disclosing accounting “inconsistencies” worth 20 billion reais ($3.78 billion) and overall debt of more than $8 billion.

Its top shareholders are the founders of 3G Capital, billionaires Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles and Carlos Alberto Sicupira.

Citing sources, Bloomberg said that the latest offer was being well-received by bank creditors.

Americanas and 3G Capital did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The company is trying to settle its debts via different financing solutions.

In early February, Americanas received the OK from a Rio de Janeiro court for a debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing of up to 2 billion reais ($384.57 million) through debentures.

Shareholders Lemann, Telles and Sicupira would pay up to the entire first tranche of such DIP financing, worth 1 billion reais ($189 million).

($1 = 5.2006 reais)

(Writing by Carolina Pulice in Mexico City; Editing by Matthew Lewis)