Brazil Stock Guide – Ambipar, a Brazilian multinational
environmental solutions company, secured a major favorable ruling
on Monday (28) in its judicial reorganization process. The United
States Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston
Division, formally recognized the judicial reorganization pending
before the 3rd Business Court of the Judicial District of the Capital of
the State of Rio de Janeiro as the “foreign main proceeding” for the
Ambipar Group in the United States under Chapter 15.
In the same ruling, the U.S. court suspended the Chapter 11 case
involving Ambipar Emergency Response and overruled the objections
filed against the restructuring strategy. The court found that the center
of main interests of the petitioning companies is in Brazil and
recognized the Brazilian court overseeing the judicial reorganization
as a “court of competent jurisdiction.”
In practical terms, the ruling significantly strengthens Ambipar’s
strategy of concentrating the restructuring of its debt and corporate
structure in Brazil, while using Chapter 15 in the United States as the
legal mechanism for international recognition and judicial
cooperation.
U.S. court recognizes authority of Brazilian proceedings
One of the most significant aspects of the decision concerns the
position adopted by the Texas court regarding rulings already issued
by the Brazilian judiciary.
According to the material fact released by Ambipar, the U.S. court
stated that suspending the Chapter 11 case advances cooperation with
the Brazilian court overseeing the judicial reorganization. It also
stressed that it was not appropriate for the U.S. court to second-guess
the findings supporting the substantive consolidation granted by the
Brazilian court.
This is particularly important because it reduces the risk of having
two competing centers of decision-making — one in Brazil and
another in the United States — governing the group’s restructuring.
Instead, the Brazilian judicial reorganization becomes the central
proceeding, while the U.S. process serves to recognize and give effect
in the United States to decisions taken within the Brazilian
restructuring.
Ambipar itself says the approach supports a coordinated restructuring
across Brazil and the United States, with the judicial reorganization
pending in Rio de Janeiro at its center.
From Chapter 11 to Chapter 15
The distinction between the two mechanisms helps explain the
significance of the ruling. Chapter 11 is a corporate reorganization procedure conducted directly before a U.S. bankruptcy court. Chapter 15, by contrast, was designed to deal with cross-border insolvencies and restructurings. It allows
U.S. courts to recognize restructuring proceedings conducted in other
countries and cooperate with the foreign courts responsible for them.
For Ambipar, the transition therefore means that the Brazilian
proceeding is being recognized as the central process for the group’s
cross-border restructuring, rather than having a separate U.S.-centered
restructuring running alongside it.
The Chapter 15 recognition proceedings were commenced on July 9,
2026, with respect to the companies undergoing judicial
reorganization and certain subsidiaries.
Their purpose is to secure recognition in the United States of the
Brazilian judicial reorganization and, at a later stage, of the
restructuring plan itself once it has been approved in Brazil.
Chapter 11 has not yet been dismissed
There is, however, an important legal distinction. Monday’s ruling did
not immediately dismiss the Chapter 11 case involving Ambipar
Emergency Response. It suspended the proceeding.
According to the company, dismissal of the Chapter 11 case is
expected to be requested after the U.S. court enters a Final Order in
the Chapter 15 proceedings recognizing the Brazilian judicial
reorganization plan.
Until then, the Chapter 11 proceeding formally remains in existence,
but suspended. This means that important procedural steps still lie ahead. The latest ruling, however, settles a fundamental issue for the restructuring:
which jurisdiction will serve as the center of the Ambipar Group’s
reorganization. The answer given by the Houston court is Brazil.
Agreement with creditors supports restructuring strategy
The U.S. development is also connected to the implementation of
Ambipar’s Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA), disclosed on
July 8. The agreement was entered into with certain creditors holding Green
Notes and establishes the principal terms for restructuring the
Ambipar Group’s indebtedness.
According to the company, the restructuring contemplated by the
agreement is expected to be implemented primarily through the
judicial reorganization plan in Brazil.
The combination of the agreement with creditors, the Brazilian
judicial reorganization and the recognition proceedings in the United
States therefore creates an integrated legal framework for the
company’s financial restructuring.
Proceedings began in October 2025
Ambipar filed for judicial reorganization on October 20, 2025, before
the 3rd Business Court of the Judicial District of the Capital of the
State of Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian court approved the proceeding
for processing on October 30.
On the date the judicial reorganization petition was filed in Brazil, Ambipar Emergency Response, a subsidiary of Ambipar, also commenced a Chapter 11 case before the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.
The simultaneous existence of Brazilian and U.S. proceedings made
the determination of the principal jurisdiction a central issue in the
restructuring.
Monday’s decision provides a clear answer by recognizing that the
center of main interests of the petitioning companies is in Brazil and
that the Brazilian judicial reorganization qualifies as the foreign main
proceeding for purposes of Chapter 15.
That recognition is particularly relevant in a cross-border
restructuring involving subsidiaries, contracts, assets and creditors
across different jurisdictions because it establishes a central reference
point for international coordination.
Next major step will be the restructuring plan
The decision does not conclude Ambipar’s judicial reorganization.
Rather, it provides the legal framework for the next stages of the
process.
A key step will be the negotiation and approval of the judicial
reorganization plan in Brazil. Once the plan is approved, Ambipar’s
strategy calls for seeking its recognition by the U.S. court under
Chapter 15.
Only after a final U.S. ruling recognizing the Brazilian judicial
reorganization plan is the dismissal of the Chapter 11 case expected to
be requested.
Ambipar says its business activities continue normally throughout the
restructuring process. In its material fact, the group said it continues
providing services with “safety, efficiency and reliability across all its
segments” and will keep shareholders and the market informed about
further developments.
The U.S. ruling therefore marks an important advance in Ambipar’s
legal and financial restructuring strategy: the American court
recognized the Brazilian proceeding as the foreign main proceeding,
overruled the objections filed and suspended the Chapter 11 case,
reinforcing the judicial reorganization in Rio de Janeiro as the center
of Ambipar’s cross-border restructuring.
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