MMX Shares Tumble on Report May File Bankruptcy

Shares in Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista's iron ore miner MMX Mineracao e Metalicos SA fell nearly 6 percent to an all-time low on Tuesday on a report that the company is going to ask a Brazilian court for protection from creditors.

Brazilian magazine Veja reported late on Monday that the company is planning to file for bankruptcy protection by the end of this month, following in the path of the other companies in Batista's shrinking EBX empire: oil company Oleo e Gas Participacoes SA (previously known as OGX) and shipbuilder group OSX Brasil SA.

The Veja report was published in a column in its online edition.

Shares in the miner were trading 5.93 percent lower at 1.11 reais.

Contacted by Reuters, a MMX Mineracao spokeswoman said the company had no comment on the report.

(Reporting by Paula Arend Laier e Marta Nogueira; writing by Stephen Eisenhammer Editing by W Simon)