Raizen Extrajudicial Recovery: $12.7B Brazil Debt Deal

Daily Brief

The morning intel from across Latin America. Free.

By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy. We never share your email.

Markets

Brazil just saw its largest corporate debt workout ever, and it was struck without a bankruptcy court running the show. The Raizen extrajudicial recovery restructures roughly R$64.7 billion (US$12.7 billion) in debt, a landmark for one of the country’s biggest energy companies.

A fuel station. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Raizen is a joint venture between Brazil’s Cosan and the oil major Shell. It is one of the world’s largest producers of sugar and ethanol and Brazil’s second-biggest fuel distributor, running the Shell-branded service stations across the country.

Like many capital-heavy companies, it borrowed heavily to grow. Then Brazil’s steep interest rates turned that debt into a burden, forcing a reckoning.

What an Extrajudicial Recovery Is

Brazil offers two main routes for a company in debt trouble. A judicial recovery is court-supervised, public and heavy, similar to a US Chapter 11. An extrajudicial recovery is lighter: the company negotiates directly with creditors and asks a court only to ratify a deal most of them already accept.

It works only when a large majority of lenders are on board. Raizen got there, winning support from 19 financial institutions and more than 80 bondholders in Brazil and abroad, with roughly 75% adhesion.

Inside the Numbers

The plan reworks about R$64.7 billion (US$12.7 billion) in financial debt, the largest extrajudicial agreement ever closed in Brazil.

Roughly 45% of the restructured debt will convert into equity, meaning some creditors trade what they are owed for a stake in the company. The remaining 55% is refinanced or amended through new debt securities maturing in 2032 and 2034.

Crucially, the controllers are putting money in. Shell is injecting about R$3.5 billion (US$686 million), and Aguassanta, tied to the Ometto family that controls Cosan, may add up to R$500 million (US$98 million).

What Raízen does. Raízen S.A. operates as an integrated energy company in Brazil, Argentina, rest of Latin America, North America, Asia, Europe, and internationally. The company trades in and markets fossil fuels and franchises network of service stations under the Shell brand name. It also engages in the production, origination, marketing, and trading of ethanol…

Why It Matters

For Raizen, the deal buys time and breathing room: a longer runway to pay, a lighter interest load and the Shell brand still firmly behind it.

For Brazil, it is a sign of the strain that high interest rates put even on blue-chip companies, and a template showing other indebted giants a path between muddling through and a full bankruptcy filing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Raizen restructure?

Raizen closed an extrajudicial recovery covering about R$64.7 billion (US$12.7 billion) in financial debt, the largest out-of-court corporate debt restructuring in Brazil’s history.

Who is backing the plan?

The deal won support from 19 banks and more than 80 bondholders, with about 75% creditor adhesion. Shell is injecting about R$3.5 billion (US$686 million), with a possible R$500 million (US$98 million) more from the Ometto family’s Aguassanta.

What is an extrajudicial recovery?

It is a Brazilian out-of-court restructuring in which a company negotiates directly with creditors and asks a court only to ratify a plan most of them already accept, lighter and faster than a full judicial recovery.

Sources

• Terra – Raizen fecha maior acordo de recuperacao extrajudicial do Pais
• Seu Dinheiro – Raizen protocola plano de recuperacao extrajudicial

Connected Coverage

• Moody’s Cosan Downgrade Hits B1 as Debt Fears Spread
• Brazil Markets: Ibovespa & the Real — July 23, 2026
• Brazil Markets: Ibovespa & the Real — July 21, 2026

LatAm Markets: Live Signals → — real-time movers, turnover leaders and FX across Latin America.