Oi S.A

What it is

Oi was created in 1998 from the privatisation of the state-owned Telebrás system, sold to a consortium that included Brazilian construction firm Andrade Gutierrez and other investors. It once provided fixed-line, mobile, broadband and pay-TV services across virtually all of Brazil.

As part of a 2019 strategic plan, the company exited the mobile segment — concluding that sale in 2022 — and in 2025 sold its residential ClientCo and TvCo units, shifting what remained of its business toward the corporate market. What survives is Oi Soluções, a unit selling cloud, connectivity and IT services to businesses.

Who owns it

PIMCO, the US bond fund, holds 36.54% of common shares — the single largest named block — while the remaining shares are widely dispersed, with about 61.5% in other hands and roughly 2% held as treasury stock. The shareholder base was pulverised when creditors converted debt into equity, leaving no defined controlling shareholder and an 11-member independent board.

Oi has since filed suit against funds managed by PIMCO, SC Lowy and Ashmore, alleging they abused their position as controlling creditors after converting debt to equity under the court-approved restructuring plan. Insiders own just 3% of the stock and institutions less than 2%, per EODHD — the market, in effect, has been left to creditors and the courts.

Who runs it

Marcelo Milliet served as CEO since late 2024, but both Milliet and CFO Rodrigo Caldas Toledo Aguiar have since left the company. A Rio de Janeiro court removed the board of directors and executive management and appointed Bruno Rezende and Tatiana Binato to oversee the transition of public services and partially intervene in management.

Rezende now leads the bankruptcy proceedings, while Binato manages subsidiaries Serede and Tahto. Leadership, in other words, has passed from executives to court-appointed administrators.

The money, in plain words

The headline 2024 net profit of R$9.61bn (US$1.9 bn) (~$1.87bn) is an accounting artefact — debt written off by the restructuring court shows up as income. The operating reality is the opposite: Q2 2025 revenue came in at R$713m (US$138 mn) against analyst estimates of R$2.67bn (US$518 mn), a fraction of what was once a R$10bn (US$1.9 bn)-a-year business.

Revenue has collapsed roughly 70% in two years — from R$10.49bn (US$2.0 bn) in 2022 to R$3.18bn (US$617 mn) in 2024 (our calculation) — and even before overhead, the company’s costs exceed what it earns: gross profit was negative at –R$1.45bn (US$282 mn) in 2024. By mid-2025 the company had net debt of around R$10bn (US$1.9 bn) against only R$1bn (US$194 mn) in cash, an unsustainable position.

What it is doing now

A Rio de Janeiro court declared Oi bankrupt on 10 November 2025, despite the company having sold several assets through two separate judicial reorganisation processes. Failure to comply with a court-approved restructuring plan ratified in 2024, and the accumulation of debts not subject to bankruptcy rules, were two of the main reasons cited by the judge.

Brazil’s telecoms regulator Anatel said Oi’s bankruptcy does not jeopardise the continuity of its services, committing to ensure their transfer to another operator if necessary. Oi still holds over 4,664 contracts with public entities across all Brazilian states, plus nearly 10,000 active contracts with private clients, which is why an orderly wind-down matters to the government.

What to watch

• Asset liquidation pace: Assets will be appraised and sold to pay creditors in priority order; shareholders sit last in line and face a high chance of total loss.
• Oi Soluções fate: The corporate IT unit accounted for roughly 50% of revenue in Q2 2025 and is the most saleable piece — a trade buyer could extract value the listed parent cannot.
• V.tal stake: Oi retains a 27.5% stake in V.tal, a neutral fibre infrastructure provider, which creditors will want to monetise.
• Anatel oversight: Regulators hold effective veto power over any transfer of public-service contracts, making them the silent force shaping every deal.
• Litigation: Oi’s lawsuit against PIMCO, SC Lowy and Ashmore adds legal uncertainty to an already complex wind-down.

This is news, not investment advice.