Brazil judge blocks key meeting ahead of Eletrobras privatization
RIO DE JANEIRO, June 6 (Reuters) - A Brazilian judge has granted an injunction to suspend a meeting on Eletrobras subsidiary Furnas seen as key to the state-run power company's privatization, according to a decision seen by Reuters.
At the meeting, which was scheduled for Monday, debenture holders of Furnas would vote on a waiver for Furnas to make an additional investment in its Santo Antonio hydropower plant.
Such a step must be completed prior to the share offering that would privatize Latin America's largest utility, according to its preliminary prospectus.
The injunction granted on Sunday by the Court of Justice of the state of Rio de Janeiro came after a request by Furnas employees, who claimed that a 681 million-real ($142.6 million) investment announced by the company in Santo Antonio prior to the meeting violated corporate governance rules.
Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, as Eletrobras is formally known, said in a securities filing late on Sunday it was working to overturn the injunction.
Brazil's government, which currently holds 72% of Eletrobras' common shares, plans to price on June 9 an offering of mainly new shares that would dilute its stake to 45%, in what may be President Jair Bolsonaro's last chance for a major privatization before October elections.
The transaction is seen reaching 35.18 billion reais. ($1 = 4.7760 reais) (Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier, Writing by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
