Brazil's Gol Hires PJT Partners as Financial Adviser

SÃ O PAULO—Brazilian airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA said Monday it has hired U.S.-based PJT Partners Inc. as a financial adviser, as the country's deep economic recession is hurting demand for air travel.

Gol said in a statement it hired "PJT Partners to advise the company in connection with measures to strengthen its capital structure and liquidity and to improve the profile of its debt."

In February, Moody's Investors Service downgraded its rating on Gol because the airline faces a cash crunch in coming months as debt payments come due.

Moody's cut Gol's corporate family rating to Caa1 from B3 and its foreign currency rating for Gol Finance's perpetual notes and senior notes due in 2017 to Caa2 from B3.

Gol is Brazil's, and Latin America's, biggest low-cost airline in terms of revenue. Brazil's weak economy has hurt sales, and the company's traffic fell 9% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier.

After contracting 3.8% last year, Brazil's economy is expected to shrink 3.66% this year, according to economists.

Gol has "insufficient liquidity" and faces a difficult market situation, and will need to either sell assets, carry out a capital increase or restructure its debt in coming months to meet its debt service needs in the next year to year and a half, Moody's said last month, while expressing confidence in the company's management.

Gol on Tuesday will publish its financial results for the fourth quarter and for the full year of 2015.

Write to Rogerio Jelmayer at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 28, 2016 09:15 ET (13:15 GMT)

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