Mexico City, Oct 9 - Mexico's No. 3 supermarket operator Comercial Mexicana, unable to make debt payments because of a recent decline in the peso, has asked a court for bankruptcy protection against creditors.
Comercial Mexicana, or Comerci, also said on Thursday it would not pay 400 million pesos in debt as it seeks to restructure its debts, much of them in foreign currencies.
Comerci is among the country's first big companies to disclose debt troubles caused by the financial crisis hitting markets worldwide.
"Comercial Mexicana to date has yet to provide additional information needed to adequately determine the possible magnitude of the loss associated with foreign exchange derivatives," Fitch said in a report on Thursday.
Comerci said its net debt stood at $2 billion.
After announcing on Tuesday that it was having problems meeting obligations, Comerci's stock collapsed more than 50 percent and has been suspended.