Debt of R$65.1 billion leads Raízen to extrajudicial recovery Raízen's request for extrajudicial recovery, with debts of R$65.1 billion, caught the market's attention in 2026. But the giant in the sugar and ethanol sector is far from being an isolated case. After years of high interest rates, among the highest in the world, a growing number of Brazilian companies have sought to negotiate with creditors outside of court to avoid the costs and impacts associated with judicial recovery. ?? Do you have any reporting suggestions? Send it to g1 Requests for extrajudicial recovery jumped from 16, in 2021, to 84 last year. The cases involve companies from sectors such as industry, mining, retail, agribusiness and logistics, according to the Brazilian Observatory of Extrajudicial Recovery (Obre). In 2026, so far, another 33 companies have followed the same path. This increase reflects the weight of the basic interest rate, currently at 14.25% per year, on many Brazilian companies, especially those that took out large loans during the pandemic, when the Selic fell to a historic low of 2% per year. Fuel prices displayed at a Shell gas station in Copenhagen, Denmark Reuters But this movement is also the result of a reform approved in 2020, which strengthened the mechanism in Brazil and promoted "a cultural change", according to Juliana Biolchi, director of Obre. According to Luiz Fabiano Saragiotto, partner at Journey Capital, the update made extrajudicial restructuring more flexible. The change allowed companies to exclude some classes of creditors and encouraged the start of debt negotiations before it was necessary to resort to judicial recovery. According to Saragiotto, judicial restructurings are complex and costly because "they involve all creditors, affecting the company's reputation and access to credit lines, in addition to maintaining the business itself." "The moment a request for judicial recovery is granted, the company gets this damn stamp", he adds. Simpler solution Understand why Estrela filed for judicial recovery Extrajudicial recovery allows companies in difficulty to negotiate directly with specific groups of creditors. Once approved by a simple majority, the plan becomes valid for all creditors of the affected classes, preventing those who rejected the agreement from being able to block it. According to Biolchi, the simplicity of the process in relation to judicial recovery has meant that it has become "increasingly associated with less acute financial crises". The mechanism gained more visibility in 2024, when the Casas Bahia retail chain obtained judicial approval for an extrajudicial recovery of around R$4.1 billion. According to the company, the plan did not affect suppliers, business partners, customers or employees. After Casas Bahia, there were other cases of great repercussion, such as that of the Tok&Stok furniture chain, also in 2024. Among the most recent requests is that of GPA, which, in March, requested approval to reorganize a debt of around R$4.5 billion. Agribusiness companies, a sector that faces high debt, have also started to use the mechanism, indicating that its use has spread across different areas of the economy. Driven by the Raízen case, the volume of debts of companies that requested extrajudicial recovery in 2026 already exceeds R$109 billion. In 2024, this total was R$41.5 billion, reflecting the progress of the movement and its impacts on the market. "Investors are much more concerned about credit risk than they were in the past," said Caio Viggiano, director of fixed income at Itaú BBA. According to him, global conflicts, high interest rates and the wave of corporate restructuring explain this change. Experts believe that the number of extrajudicial recoveries should continue to grow in the coming months. Oncoclínicas, the largest cancer treatment company in Latin America, is among the companies evaluating using the mechanism, according to press reports and a source with knowledge of the discussions. When contacted, the company declined to comment. Who pays more in Brazil? See which states pay the best average salaries