Mexico's ICA may file for pre-approved bankruptcy - report

Financially troubled Mexican construction company ICA is planning to negotiate with its creditors in order to file for pre-approved bankruptcy and consolidate its debt restructuring plan, according to a report by local daily El Financiero.

The company's shareholders met last week and voted in favor of lifting all legal restrictions and allowing the company's executive board and CEO to file for bankruptcy if necessary, an ICA source was reported as saying by the paper.

In 2015, ICA defaulted on a US$31mn bond interest payment as a result of its rising debt. Since then, the company has been working on developing a debt restructuring plan, which entailed winding down its international and real estate divisions, exiting its international concession projects that had not yet started and limiting its construction business to Mexican operations.

In November, the company's board named Guadalupe Phillips as the new CEO. She had previously served as chief restructuring officer at the firm.

Given that almost half its debt is denominated in US dollars, the company has been heavily affected by the marked depreciation of the peso against the dollar in the past few years.

In recent months, however, the company's luck seemed to have taken a positive turn, at least momentarily, with the award of two of the contracts for the new Mexico City international airport, including the project to construct the new terminal building.