Eike Unloads More OGX Shares

Eike Batista sold 177.2m shares of OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes in the past few days, the oil company says, a piece representing 5.49%. The position would be worth BRL71 ($30m) at Wednesday’s BRL0.40 closing price. It follows Batista’s sale of 1.54% of OGX announced last week. Batista has sold 11.14% of OGX’s stock since March, and intends to hold on to at least 50.01%. The company is running out of cash, and analysts are forecasting a default and likely exchange offer to holders of OGX’s $3.62bn in 2018 and 2022 dollar bonds. A group of at least a half dozen bondholders has hired Rothschild, Cleary Gottlieb and Pinheiro Neto to advise, and awaits a formal offer. Analysts have downgraded OGX bonds, now at Ca/CCC/CCC minus, on the high probability that it will miss interest payments this year.