Brazilian magnate Eike Batista’s shipbuilding company to file for bankruptcy

Oil industry equipment and service supplier OSX, part of the EBX Group conglomerate controlled by Brazilian magnate Eike Batista, says it has halted debt payments and is seeking bankruptcy protection.

OSX, the second Batistacontrolled company to seek protection from creditors after oil firm OGX, made the announcement in a regulatory filing.

The decision was made by OSX’s board, which also voted to oust Marcelo Luiz Maia Gomes as CEO and replace him with Ivo Dworschak Filho, who previously headed up the company’s shipbuilding division.

The company will be able to continue operating while it negotiates a restructuring of its debts.

OGX filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 30 and its delicate situation has dragged down OSX, one of the oil company’s biggest suppliers.

OSX builds and operates equipment for the offshore oil and gas industry, including the construction of support vessels, oil rigs and welldrilling equipment.

Since 2011, it also has been building a shipyard at the Acu Superport, an industrial megaproject conceived by Batista on the coast of Rio de Janeiro state.

For the development of these projects, the company raised nearly $4.7 billion from bond issues abroad and other transactions.

EBX Group’s financial woes began last year with the revelation that an oil concession awarded to OGX contained fewer reserves than expected.

In addition to OGX and OSX, the EBX Group also includes logistics company LLX, coal mining firm CCX and entertainment company IMX.

Batista used to be one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, but his net worth has fallen sharply in recent years due to the plunging share prices of his publicly listed companies.