A unit of Odebrecht SA, the construction company whose former chief executive is serving a 19-year prison sentence as part of a sweeping corruption scandal in Brazil, still hasn’t received a $4.1 billion loan for a key project in Latin America, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The credit committees for a group of 20 banks providing the syndicated loan have so far refused to sign off on the deal, originally expected to be approved last year, to fund a natural-gas pipeline project in Peru, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. The creditors’ compliance areas aren’t comfortable lending to Gasoducto Sur Peruano, a special-purpose venture known as GSP that’s controlled by Odebrecht, because of concern over the corruption scandal and possible fines the holding conglomerate may face, the people said.
GSP, which Odebrecht controls with a 55 percent stake, won the 34-year license to build and operate the 1,080-kilometer (671-mile) pipeline in June 2014. Spain’s Enagas SA holds a 25 percent stake, and Peru’s Grana & Montero SAA bought a 20 percent share in September for $215 million.
Leave a Reply