Brazilian pellet producer Samarco, a 50/50 joint venture (JV) between Vale and BHP Billiton, missed interest payments for $500 million in bonds that were due on Monday, according to a trustee from Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
According to the bank, the pellet producer still has a 30-day grace period to pay the interest, otherwise, creditors holding at least 25 percent of the $500 million in bonds could declare the principal due immediately, according to contractual terms.
A media report citing unnamed bondholders said the Monday payment was worth about $13.5 million.
Despite recent claims by Vale that it made a $1.15 billion provision to aid Samarco and that it should destiny some $150 million in H2 2016 to help Samarco fund its expenses, Samarco’s missing interest payment makes evident its co-owners Vale and BHP Billiton are reluctant to provide additional capital, as the pellets producer faces billionaire lawsuits.
A media reported by Reuters noted Samarco has $2.2 billion in outstanding bond obligations and $1.6 billion in bank loans. Altogether, Samarco faces $54 million in interest payments on three bonds through November, Reuters said.