Houlihan Lokey Advises Patense

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce the successful completion of the comprehensive financial restructuring of Industria de Rações Patense (Patense), encompassing approximately R$1.8 billion of indebtedness. The restructuring combined a Brazilian judicial reorganization process with strategic asset divestitures, resulting in a substantially deleveraged company with approximately R$300 million of remaining debt. Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Patense on both its financial restructuring and asset sales.

Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Brazil, Patense is one of the country’s leading rendering companies, specializing in the collection and processing of animal byproducts into value-added products used in animal nutrition, biofuel, personal care, and other industrial applications.

Between 2021 and 2023, the company completed 10 acquisitions that significantly expanded its operating footprint and revenues; however, integration challenges, combined with the increase in Brazilian interest rates from ~2% to ~15%, resulted in liquidity pressures and an unsustainable capital structure.

Houlihan Lokey was hired by the company in May 2024 and, following the commencement of judicial reorganization proceedings in August 2024, led the development of a comprehensive restructuring strategy to address the company’s indebtedness. Challenges associated with the case included (i) a highly dispersed and partially retail local creditor base, (ii) the fact that a substantial portion of the pre-petition debt was bankruptcy remote, and (iii) the restrictions on raising capital during the pendency of the case due to the inexistence of priming DIPs in Brazil.

Following extensive negotiations, a judicial reorganization plan was ultimately approved by creditors in August 2025 and subsequently confirmed by the court in September 2025. The restructuring plan and deleveraging strategy were predicated on strategic asset sales through the Brazilian UPI framework, which allows buyers to acquire assets free and clear of legacy liabilities (akin to a §363 sale in the U.S.).

Houlihan Lokey subsequently conducted successful M&A processes that generated substantial proceeds to both repay pre-petition debt at a discount and recapitalize the business, including: (i) the R$135 million sale of “UPI Kenya“ (comprising one of the company’s fish processing facilities) to Nauterra that closed in April 2026 and (ii) the R$620 million sale of “UPI Bovinos” (comprising the company’s three largest animal byproduct processing facilities) to Darling Ingredients that closed in May 2026.

Patense ultimately emerged from the restructuring with approximately R$300 million of remaining debt—~R$100 million of which will be repaid over the next 10 to 25 years—and the founding family retained 100% ownership of the remaining business, positioning the company for long-term growth.

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