Three-Week Spiral Puts Ambipar on Brink of Bankruptcy (1)

In just over three weeks, troubled Brazilian waste-management company Ambipar Participações e Empreendimentos SA went from reassuring investors to the brink of a bankruptcy filing.

Ambipar, which does everything from hazardous waste disposal to soil remediation in more than 40 countries, had seen its dollar bonds steadily drop as compliance probes, ratings warnings and governance issues piled up. In mid-September, it decided to expand its board and overhaul committees, a push to convince investors that it was getting back on track.

But it all backfired. Along with the changes, executives said they hired an adviser to look into a liability ...