Argentine tycoon Eduardo Eurnekian is intervening to bring a billion-dollar semiconductor project back on track in Brazil. The said project was started as a joint venture between entrepreneur Eike Batista and the Brazilian government, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
Corporacion America, Eurnekian's holding firm, entered a deal to acquire Batista's 33% interest in SIX Semicondutores, the firm that is building the first semiconductor plant in Brazil. This information was disclosed by investor Minas Gerais state government. International Business Machines Corp, and state-run National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) has also partnered in the project, the report detailed.
Batista's $30-billion commodities empire went down in 2013 after his oil company, OGX Petroleo e Gas, missed a $45-million interest payment to its bondholders. The oil company had entered bankruptcy proceedings last year. Two years before, the Brazilian tycoon had agreed to invest BRL245 million ($104 million) in SIX Semicondutores but had only put down around BRL81 million. Corporacion America has agreed to hand the remaining BRL164 million to SIX, on top of an undisclosed amount paid for Batista's total stake in the project, the report explained.
According to the state of Minas Gerais, the deal is still subject to approval of Brazil's authorities. However, officials said the transaction with Eurkenian pushes the project on track to be completed by the middle of 2015, WSJ reported.
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