Abengoa Bioenergia Brasil SA became the latest Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer to file for bankruptcy protection following the country’s economic crisis and a slump in commodity prices, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The company, a unit of Spain’s Abengoa SA, requested judicial protection in a court in Santa Cruz das Palmeiras municipality, Sao Paulo state, it said yesterday. Its bank debt was 837 million reais ($265 million) as of December. The move followed unsuccessful attempts over the last 19 months to attract outside investors and restructure its debt. Abengoa Bioenergia also cited Brazil’s political crisis and a lack of credit as contributing factors to its bankruptcy.
