Light SA has filed for the termination of its judicial reorganization process, which began in May 2023 to restructure approximately R$ 11 billion in debt. According to the company, the main obligations stipulated in the plan approved by creditors and ratified by the court have been fulfilled.
The request was submitted to the 3rd Business Court of the Capital District of the State of Rio de Janeiro, which is responsible for the process. However, the conclusion of the judicial reorganization still depends on a court decision.
As part of the restructuring, the board of directors approved a capital increase of R$ 1,5 billion, through the issuance of 238.473.768 new common shares, at a price of R$ 6,29 per share. With this operation, the company's share capital increased to R$ 6,97 billion, divided into 611.029.092 common shares.
Debt of R$ 11 billion
The crisis that led Light to file for bankruptcy protection was exacerbated by the economic and financial deterioration of its distribution company, which serves 31 municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Among the main problems were high levels of debt, non-technical losses – mainly theft and illegal connections – and uncertainties related to the renewal of the distribution service concession.
The request for judicial reorganization was filed on May 12, 2023 by the holding company Light SA. The distributor Light Serviços de Eletricidade did not directly join the process because legislation prevents public service concessionaires from resorting to this instrument.
The restructuring also preserved the distributor's operational and sectoral obligations, including commitments to generators, transmission companies, workers, and essential suppliers. The measure sought to prevent the holding company's financial reorganization from affecting the continuity of energy supply.
At the time, the debt subject to judicial reorganization was estimated at around R$ 11 billion and mainly involved debenture holders, holders of bonds issued abroad, and financial institutions.
After approximately one year of negotiations, the judicial reorganization plan was approved at a meeting held on May 29, 2024. The proposal received favorable votes from 99,41% of the creditors present, who represented 99,12% of the credits submitted to the process.
Among the measures foreseen were the capitalization of the company by up to R$ 1,5 billion, the conversion of up to R$ 2,2 billion in debt into equity participation, and the renegotiation of the remaining debts, with new deadlines, grace periods, and different payment conditions.
The plan also established full payment to creditors with amounts up to R$ 30, within the total limit of R$ 300 million. The court approved the plan on June 18, 2024..
Renewal of the concession paved the way for capitalization.
The company's financial recovery progressed after the renewal, for another 30 years, of Light's concession in Rio de Janeiro. The contract extension was formalized by the Ministry of Mines and Energy on May 8, 2026, following a recommendation from Aneel (Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency).
The definition regarding the concession was considered fundamental to providing predictability to the operation and enabling the investment foreseen in the judicial reorganization plan. After the renewal, the company announced that it intends to invest R$ 10 billion between 2026 and 2030 in the modernization, digitization, and automation of the network, in addition to actions to increase the resilience of the infrastructure and combat non-technical losses.
The distributor serves approximately 4,3 million consumer units in 31 municipalities in Rio de Janeiro state, reaching around 12 million people. The announced investment is more than double that made in the previous five years.
With the completion of the capital increase and the fulfillment of the plan's main obligations, Light has entered the final stage of the process initiated more than three years ago. However, the company will formally remain in judicial reorganization until the court accepts the request and determines the termination of the process.
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