BMG Foods, the Brazilian meatpacker controlled by Paraguay’s Frigorífico Concepción, filed for a Brazil’s court-supervised reorganization process, broadly similar to a Chapter 11 filing, The company listed more than $689 million (3.5 billion reais) in debt.
The filing formalizes a liquidity crisis after BMG expanded through acquisitions and leased meat plants financed largely with borrowed money. High capital costs left the company unable to sustain the strategy.
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At its peak, BMG ranked among Brazil’s five largest beef producers. It has recently returned several leased slaughterhouses, as The AgriBiz previously reported.
The financial strain has spread across the group. Frigorífico Concepción, controlled by Brazilian businessman Jair Lima and Paraguay’s second-largest beef processor, is also restructuring after running short of cash to meet near-term obligations.
The Paraguayan company has stopped making payments to international creditors and delayed an interest installment to bondholders.
In Brazil, BMG accumulated unpaid bills to suppliers, including trucking companies serving its pork business in Paraná. Cattle ranchers were also left unpaid for animals delivered to the company’s plants.
In April, BMG executives told The AgriBiz the overdue amounts would be paid gradually. The following month, the company entered a formal restructuring and secured an interim injunction blocking creditors from enforcing claims.
It has now moved into court-supervised reorganization and is being advised by Guedes & Manocchio.
The filing lists Bank of New York Mellon as BMG’s largest individual creditor. The bank represents bondholders with a claim of about $295 million (1.5 billion reais).
This story was translated from the original Portuguese with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by The AgriBiz editorial staff.
