Brazil Independencia to split assets, debt-report

SAO PAULO, July 14 (Reuters) - Brazilian beef processor Independencia INDALI.UL will remove controlling shareholders from day-to-day management and seek 330 million reais (US$166 million) in loans as part of efforts to exit bankruptcy proceedings, newspaper Valor Economico reported Tuesday.

Independencia, which filed for bankruptcy protection in early March, will split assets into two companies as part of the plan, Valor said, citing a confidential document presented Monday to courts and creditors.

One company called Nisa will house the operational assets and a third of Independencia's estimated $1.2 billion debt, Valor said. Nisa will have as partners the investment holding arm of state development bank BNDES and the Russos.

The other company, which will be named Isa, will assume two-thirds of Independencia's liabilities, Valor reported. Members of the Russo family will relinquish daily management duties and only join the company's board.

Independencia is requesting the loans from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Banco Santander, Banco Votorantim, Banco Bradesco, Itau Unibanco and Lehman Brothers to pay suppliers and bolster working capital, Valor said.

Under the restructuring plan, the company will increase the number of board seats to seven from five currently, diluting the presence of the Russos in the board.

Saddled by debt, several Brazilian beef processors have been hit hard by the global credit crisis and a drastic reduction in access to financing, as well as a decline in imports by clients in Europe and Asia.

The drop of the local currency, the real (BRBY), against the dollar late last year hit Independencia, which had about 90 percent of its debt denominated in dollars, according to bankruptcy documents filed with a court in March.

The Cajamar, Brazil-based company has fired about 7,000 workers since the credit crisis intensified last September. (Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by John Picinich)