Updated

The Puerto Rico government is offering to pay its senior creditors about 50 cents on the dollar as part of efforts to solve its economic crisis.

The offer released at midnight Friday covers constitutionally backed general obligation and sales-tax bondholders. It would allocate $16.75 billion to cover a $36.38 billion debt. The bondholders could receive an additional $8 billion if the government receives more money than forecast over the next decade.

A general obligation bondholder group has criticized the offer as not credible.

After May 1, the territory loses protection from creditor lawsuits granted by the federal government. A federal control board said Friday it could choose a bankruptcy-like path to restructure Puerto Rico's debt. The government also announced measures to hike revenue and privatize some operations.