In less than two months of negotiations, GPA secured the agreement of the majority of creditors to its out-of-court restructuring plan, which will result in a reduction of just over 50% in the size of its non-operating debt, currently around R$ 4.5 billion.

The group, owner of the Pão de Açúcar and Extra supermarket chains, announced this Tuesday, May 5th, that it has the support of 57% of its non-operational creditors for its plan, bringing relief in the short and medium term, giving CEO Alexandre Santoro room to implement his operational restructuring plan.

“I’ve been here for four months and the issue of liquidity was GPA’s main topic,” the executive tells NeoFeed . “Now, we’re turning the page on this financial debt issue.”

The GPA plan – filed today with the 3rd Bankruptcy and Judicial Reorganization Court of the São Paulo District, with an initial deadline of 30 days for approval – foresees that the debt will be converted into two debenture operations that creditors can choose from.

The first issuance totals R$ 2.5 billion and will be made in two tranches. One of them is approximately R$ 1.5 billion, with a cost of CDI plus 2.5%, a two-year grace period, and maturity concentrated in 2031. The other tranche, of R$ 1 billion, will be convertible into equity in four windows between 2027 and 2031, based on the market price at the time.

According to Pedro Albuquerque , CFO and director of investor relations at GPA, this option also includes a capital contribution to the company, in the form of discounted risk, working capital, or via debentures. The expectation is to raise approximately R$ 200 million.

The second option is a R$2 billion issuance, with a 70% discount, resulting in a final debt of approximately R$600 million, maturing in 2036.

Albuquerque emphasizes that these options apply to all creditors, without distinction between different classes. “The plan is the same for all creditors, and depending on how they choose to participate, there will be different conditions. If they want to provide capital to the company, there will be one class of debt. Otherwise, there will be another class of debt, with a discount,” he says.

As a result of the proposal, in addition to reducing non-operational debt by more than 50%, to R$ 2.1 billion, the plan will extend the average maturity from 2.1 years to 6.4 years, with the cost falling from CDI plus 1.8% to CDI plus 0.5%.

The disbursement that GPA would have to make over the next three years drops from R$ 5.2 billion to R$ 800 million. "All of this ultimately allows the company to have the operational cash flow conditions that fit within its liabilities," says Albuquerque.

When asked about the leverage ratio, the executive declined to comment. However, NeoFeed has learned that it should be around 2.3 times. In adjusted terms, the ratio between net debt and EBITDA closed 2025 at 2.4 times.

GPA filed for out-of-court restructuring in March, facing financial pressure and "significant doubts" about the continuity of its business.

The retailer had a total of R$ 2.3 billion in debt maturing throughout 2026, of which R$ 1.7 billion was due between May and July. Meanwhile, operating cash flow, after working capital variations, reached R$ 1.3 billion at the end of 2025, an increase of 37.8%.

The company initiated the process with the support of creditors who account for 46% of the debt, a large portion of them banks. NeoFeed reported at the time that Itaú , HSBC , Rabobank, and BTG Pactual supported the measure.

With that situation behind it, GPA is now focusing on operations. The company has restructured its management team , bringing in experienced retail executives to address three points that Santoro began working on four months ago when he took over – delivering customer experience, increasing operational efficiency, and financial discipline.

Another issue that needs to be resolved is the R$17 billion in fiscal and labor contingencies in the coming years. “Clearly, there is still a significant agenda ahead, there is still much for us to do here, especially operationally, in improving our customers' experience. But we are very confident in the direction and strategy adopted,” says Santoro.

GPA shares closed Monday's trading session, May 4th, up 2.17% at R$ 2.50. Year-to-date, the shares have fallen 36.8%, bringing the market value to R$ 1.2 billion.