Hellolight enters the final phase to reach an agreement with the banks with which to restructure the debt and move forward. 210 days (seven months) have passed since she announced on April 22 that she had “everything prepared” to sign the financing that would keep her out of pre-bankruptcy. During these months, the Catalan energy company has achieved a series of milestones that place it in a better position to achieve refinancing. As of this Monday, November 18, you have just one month to obtain the support of creditors.
Sources close to the company assure that Holaluz fully trusts in reaching a agreement with creditors as something correlative to the entry into the capital of Icosium Investmentwho will become the largest shareholder. The marketing company that presides Charlotte Pi In September it closed a ‘stand still’ agreement with its main financial creditors, who represent more than 94% of the financial liabilities, by which it was granted until December 18 to evaluate and negotiate the reorganization of its financial debt, a process to the one who hired PwC. The financial entities agreed to maintain the current instruments in their existing terms and granted a grace period in the amortization of the principal of their remaining loans. The banks also accepted the establishment of other measures to promote the continuity of ordinary activity.
The path to obtaining this oxygen tank from creditors was not easy for the company, which has been surrounded by all kinds of rumors. As said at the beginning, Holaluz informed BME Growth that it was negotiating financing for 21 million euros at the end of April. Specifically, it was a loan of 10 million with the Institut Català de Finances (ICF); three million with Avançsa, an industrial promotion and localization company in Catalonia; a convertible loan with several Catalan family offices of an estimated two million and an equity line of up to six million – of which he would use the amount that was necessary. However, on May 2, it reported that it was continuing to advance in the refinancing of its activity and that it was opening a new additional alternative, which consisted of: a loan from the ICF for ten 10 million, a loan from Avançsa for three million and convertible loans for seven million with an investor/industrialist in the sector.
The Government does not consider granting the loan
As La Información Económica has already published, the Generalitat of Catalonia does not consider granting the loan to Holaluz, although the company is not throwing in the towel and has not ruled out any of the options yet. For its part, the trading company was suspended on May 2 for being unable to publish its annual audited financial information on time. It lost 26 million euros in 2023, which represents five times the ‘red numbers’ of the previous year, causing a division among shareholders within the board of directors. The company presented the accounts on May 1, a national holiday for International Workers’ Day, at 00:08 hours, and on Axon venture capital fund and the Geroa pension fund They signed them in disagreement – both were finally expelled from the board of directors. It also announced in November 2023 an ERE for about 200 workers, which represents 27% of its workforce, due to the slowdown in the solar business in the residential sector.
Despite the crisis situation, Holaluz has been weathering the storm. Between May and June it received 8.1 million euros and in July it renewed a promissory note of seven million euros for two more years. After the shareholders’ meeting – in June – the company also wanted to send a message of tranquility by reducing the net financial debt by 8.2 million euros. Under this scenario, Holaluz has resisted and has always ruled out selling its customer base, which would have been the quickest way to end its problems. Large electricity companies such as Iberdrola and Endesa, and also the Portuguese Galp, explored the purchase of the company at the time, but in none of the cases was there a formal offer given the intentions of the founders -Ferran Nogué, Carlota Pi and Oriol Vila- to continue ahead.
More ‘positive’ semi-annual accounts
The Half-year accounts also gave wings to the Catalan firm. It recorded losses of 13.5 million euros, which means reducing the red numbers by 35% compared to the first half of last year. Likewise, it reduced net debt to 40.7 million, which is 24.7 million euros less compared to the same period last year and 16.5 million euros less compared to April. As of June 30, the balance of 21.3 million short-term debts includes ICO loans subscribed in 2020 and 2021 in programs promoted by the Government to mitigate the effects of covid-19, the amortization of a loan granted by the ICF and a loan from CaixaBank; ICO credit policies; and ordinary and ICO ‘confirmings’, among other liabilities.
For its part, the gross operating result (Ebitda) was -4 million euros, compared to -17.9 million in the first half of 2023, 78% less, “despite the adverse market context, especially in the solar business, low electricity prices, high interest rates and the scarcity of subsidies. According to the company itself, the improvement in Ebitda is the result of the operational efficiencies plan that it has been implementing since 2023 and which has led to an improvement in margins and a substantial reduction in operating costs – up to 30 million euros throughout the year. . After all this journey, at the beginning of November it surprised with a capital increase of 22 million euros to bring in Icosium Investment as an industrial partner. The fund is based in Barcelona and was established on December 1, 2022. The operation, which values Holaluz at more than 45 million euros, will be carried out in two phases and, once completed, the Spanish industrial investor will become the maximum shareholder with 33.43% of the capital. It will also have three seats on the board of directors.
Currently, Axon Partners controls 16.8%, followed by the three founders with 14.66% each, Geroa Pentsioak with 6.68% and Mediavideo with 5.14%. EY, auditor of the entity’s accounts, points out in the semi-annual results report that the treasury forecasts for the next twelve months include both the capital increase and the materialization of the refinancing agreement that is currently in the negotiation phase.
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