Brazil’s Gol wins court approval to access part of $950 million in financing

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian airline Gol won provisional approval from a court in New York to access the first part of a $950 million financing deal agreed with bondholders of its parent company, the carrier said on Monday.

Gol, which filed for bankruptcy protections in the United States last week, said in a securities filing that it will seek final approval over the next few weeks to access all the so-called debtor-in-possession financing that would allow the firm to keep operating while the bankruptcy process is ongoing.

The airline did not specify how much of the $950 million it can access.

Earlier on Monday, Gol said its debt totaled about 20.2 billion reais ($4.1 billion) at the end of the fourth quarter, disclosing the information for the first time after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

That represents a 0.25% drop from the previous quarter, Gol added in its filing, noting that the figures had not yet been audited.

($1 = 4.9200 reais)