BHP Said to Seek Samarco Restructure as Vale Wants More Time
- Vale said to prefer grace period until iron mining resumes
- Brazilian mine has been shut since dam collapse last year
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BHP Billiton Ltd. is pushing to restructure debt at its Samarco venture as joint owner Vale SA prefers a grace period on payments until it secures licenses to resume mining, people familiar with the matter said.
While the owners have said they don’t intend to cover Samarco’s more than $3 billion in debt, they’re at odds over how the Brazilian iron miner should approach banks and bondholders after a year-long halt in output, the people said, asking not to be identified because talks are private. BHP’s preference for restructuring now would mean a haircut for creditors, the people said.