A Brazilian court yesterday accepted Oi SA's bankruptcy protection petition, allowing the country's largest phone company to move ahead with plans to reorganize operations and restructure 65.4 billion reais ($20.2 billion) of debt, Reuters reported. The decision was made by judge Fernando Viana of the 7th Commercial Branch of Rio de Janeiro's Justice Tribunal who will supervise the reorganization on behalf of Oi and creditors, the court said in a statement. Viana said that he accepted the petition because of the company's importance to the Brazilian economy, to ensure an organized restructuring of Oi's debts and to protect its suppliers, 70 million clients, 140,000 employees and taxes Oi pays to the Brazilian government, the statement said.
