LLX Talks with BNDES, GE Writes Down EBX

LLX Logistica is in advanced talks with development bank BNDES to roll over debt obligations due in September, a company spokeswoman says. The Eike-Batista-controlled port and logistics company is working to renegotiate some BRL518m ($233m) in debt. No agreement has yet been made. Separately, General Electric wrote down a $300m investment in Batista’s EBX holding company, according to remarks made on a conference call by CEO Jeffrey Immelt. This followed Abu Dhabi state investment fund and fellow high-profile partner Mubadala, which recently cut back its exposure, with EBX repaying some of its debt and revising the terms of the remaining loans. Batista has pledged to pay all of his debts, he says, breaking a long period of silence Friday in an open letter published in Brazilian newspapers. “If I could go back in time, I would not have gone to the public equity markets. I would have arranged a private equity financing that would permit me to start from zero and develop for at least 10 years each company,” the billionaire writes.