Lenders Take Haircut in Selecta Fire Sale

Creditors of Brazilian seed specialist Selecta Sementes stand to take an average haircut of around 38% on roughly $400m worth of debt following its restructuring, say people close to the matter. The private company went into bankruptcy in May following losses stemming from CBOT-traded soy options and two days ago received judicial approval to sell itself to Argentina’s Los Grobo for $55m. Total outstanding debt, which includes several facilities – local, cross-border, secured and unsecured – is being reduced to $250m, says an executive close to the workout who declines to be named. Some lenders are being paid back in full while others are taking reductions. Among the main creditors are Santander, ING, BES Investimento and Credit Suisse, which participated in an $80m secured capex facility to Selecta prior to its implosion, says the executive. The Swiss shop also had a mandate to take Selecta public on the Bovespa, though this was halted when the company ran into trouble. More than 20 other banks are also heard involved. Selecta has recently received an additional $30m line from a bank group to continue building out a seed crushing facility, which is heard paying close to Libor plus 300bp. Selecta hired Rothschild to advise it through the restructuring.