Brazil's Ambipar gets court protection in debt dispute, shares dive

By Luciana Magalhaes

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Shares in Brazilian waste management company Ambipar plunged on Thursday after it secured a preliminary injunction from a Rio de Janeiro state court temporarily preventing the accelerated maturity of its debt.

The move added to ongoing concerns about the company's management turnover and leverage, according to analysts at UBS.

Ambipar's shares were down 43% at 1652 GMT after falling as much as 60.5% to their lowest in more than a year. They were on track for their worst day ever, with losses wiping off 7 billion reais ($1.31 billion) from the firm's market cap.

The court ruling, which was seen by Reuters, comes amid a dispute with Deutsche Bank, which had demanded additional guarantees for loans to the company.

According to the decision, Deutsche Bank's request for additional guarantees for Ambipar's green bonds created an "imminent and concrete" risk for the company.

Ambipar said in its petition to the court that some financial institutions had already begun notifying the group of accelerated debt obligations.

The company argued that it would face a "financial hole of more than 10 billion reais" without the injunction.

The injunction would "enable the continuity of the group's business activities and allow the protection of its assets, while seeking a viable alternative with creditors for the adequate resolution of its financial commitments," the firm said in the document.

Deutsche Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

($1 = 5.3451 reais)

(Reporting by Luciana Magalhaes; Editing by Gabriel Araujo and Mark Porter)