Americanas Bankruptcy: Vanished $4B Brings Down Brazil Retailer in a Week

Americanas Bankruptcy: Vanished $4B Brings Down Brazil Retailer in a Week

Hours after revealing a scandal that may roil Brazilian markets, Sergio Rial joined a Zoom name with lots of of panicked buyers. It was an try to elucidate the $4 billion accounting hole that pushed him to stop his new job on the helm of retailerAmericanas SA.

The Jan. 12 name was a tumultuous mixture of English and Portuguese that some analysts had been locked out of as a result of the assembly reached its 1,000-participant capability. Those who had been in a position to cram into the headquarters of Banco BTG Pactual SA — the Sao Paulo-based creditor that was internet hosting the occasion — had been left “perplexed” by Rial’s presentation, as one participant put it.