By Rodrigo Viga Gaier
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Oi SA creditors argued late into Tuesday night over a plan to restructure $20 billion in debt owed by the Brazilian telecoms company in Latin America's largest-ever bankruptcy case as major creditors stayed silent about whether they would support it.
With creditors requesting one recess after another at a public meeting in Rio de Janeiro, a court-appointed administrator said the process would reconvene at 11:30 p.m. local time (0130 GMT).
The management of Brazil's No. 4 wireless carrier is angling for enough support from creditors to restructure some 65.4 billion reais ($20 billion) in debt, capping a year and a half of bruising negotiations.
The venue for one of Brazil's most contentious corporate battles this year, a 22,000-square-meter convention centre known as Riocentro, hosted boxing matches at the 2016 Olympic Games.
At stake in the process - plagued by fighting among creditors, shareholders and management - are more than 100,000 jobs that could be lost if the company is liquidated.
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If creditors approve the plan, attention will turn to China Telecom Corp and China Mobile Ltd , which have expressed interest in taking over the carrier after it emerges from bankruptcy protection.
The Chinese are the latest in a string of foreign investors who have floated a potential cash injection in Oi, Brazil's largest fixed-line operator. Management has acknowledged the need for a fresh injection of cash and included a 4 billion reais capital increase from creditors in their recovery plan.
New capital would be used to expand fixed-line broadband and fourth-generation cellular networks, according to court documents, which are behind the technologies of competitors such as Telefonica Brasil SA , TIM Participacoes SA and the local unit of America Movil SAB .
PUBLIC CREDITORS QUIET
Major bondholders have expressed support for the restructuring plan, which could give them control of the company through a debt-for-equity swap, but other creditors have been circumspect.
At the meeting, state development bank BNDES, whose support is required for passage, requested minor changes to the proposal. State lenders Banco do Brasil SA and Caixa Economica Federal, also creditors, requested extra time throughout the day to deliberate on the proposal.
The president of Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel, which is owed billions of dollars in regulatory fines, said after a four-hour meeting of the body's board in Brasilia that its position would not be public until the vote takes place.
The agency was leaning towards rejecting the proposal, leading to the call for a temporary recess, according to people close to the agency who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of talks.
The deliberations went ahead despite efforts by influential shareholder Nelson Tanure, whose investment vehicle Societe Mondiale controls the board through alliances, to stop the vote, including complaints to courts and regulators after a judge removed him from negotiations.
Under the restructuring plan, creditors such as distressed asset specialists Aurelius Capital Management and Goldentree Asset Management could swap their debt for up to 75 percent of the carrier's stock.
($1 = 3.29 reais)
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Additional reporting by Leandro Goy in Brasilia; Writing and additional reporting by Gram Slattery in Sao Paulo; Editing by Brad Haynes, Cynthia Osterman, Chizu Nomiyama, Jeffrey Benkoe and David Gregorio)