Troubled Brazilian operator Oi may look to dispose of assets including its mobile unit as part of a plan to exit bankruptcy protection, according to reports.

According to The Wall Street Journal, a plan filed with the courts yesterday was “little more than a placeholder”, which had not been fully discussed with bondholders – but the company was under pressure to meet a court deadline.

Oi is proposing a restructure which would see bondholders facing a “haircut” of 70 per cent, receiving new debt with a face value of 30 per cent of the outstanding totals. These could be converted into up to 85 per cent of Oi’s equity if they are not redeemed in three years.

Reuters cited an unnamed analyst who said that in the “best case scenario”, investors would get 31 per cent of the debt paid plus 4 per cent interest, while in the worst case, they would end up with 85 per cent of a struggling operator as well as liabilities associated with being a shareholder.

Other options were also given in the document, including assigning priority to creditors willing to commit new funding to help the company exit bankruptcy.

Oi would also look to raise new capital and sell assets, which could include real estate and the mobile unit. But, WSJ continued, some shareholders do not agree with the mobile sell-off plan.

Oi is the fourth largest operator in Brazil, with a 19 per cent market share by connections (47.6 million). It lags Telefonica’s Vivo, America Movil’s Claro, and TIM Brasil.

Should the decision be made to dispose of the wireless unit, it is unclear who would be the potential buyer. A deal would give any of the big three a significant boost (there is a 10 million connection difference between third and first place), and Oi has been linked with number-three player TIM in the past.

Other assets that could be on the block include stakes of telecoms operators in Asia and Africa, a fibre-optic network in Sao Paulo, towers and data centres.

The Brazilian operator filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, as it struggled with its debt burden. It also parted company with a CEO, as shareholders looked to resist a plan which would have seen a large chunk of Oi handed over to bondholders, thereby diluting their stakes.

Oi has struggled due to regulatory obligations related to its fixed-line infrastructure and a weak economy in Brazil. It has also not been able to capitalise on mobile growth to the same extent as its rivals.

According to Bloomberg, there is now a 30 day negotiation period before a revised plan is presented.