Batista's OSX reaches agreement to refinance loan payment -paper
SAO PAULO, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Shipbuilder OSX Brasil SA , controlled by tycoon Eike Batista, reached agreement with Brazil's development bank BNDES on Monday to refinance a 518 million reais ($237.6 million) loan for 30 days, local newspaper Estado de S. Paulo reported.
Estado, citing sources who declined to be named, said debt-ridden OSX is also trying to persuade state-run Caixa Economica Federal, Brazil's No. 1 mortgage lender, to roll over a 400 million reais loan due on Saturday.
Representatives from OSX, Caixa Economica and BNDES did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report, which was published on Tuesday, when the loan from BNDES was due to be repaid.
Batista is currently in talks with creditors to prevent the collapse of his flagship OGX Petróleo e Gas Participações SA , an event that could also bring down OSX, which gets most of its business from the troubled oil company.
BNDES President Luciano Coutinho said in August that the bank could extend payment deadlines for OSX.
Batista, who just a year ago was Brazil's richest man and the world's seventh wealthiest with a fortune close to $35 billion, is dismantling his Grupo EBX conglomerate because of a dearth of cash, surging debt and a loss of investor confidence.