The creditors give an extra life to Duro Felguera. Suspended from trading and with the market on alert both due to the conflict with Sonelgaz in Algeria and the burning of cash, the Spanish firm faced 12 million euros of debt with banks and Sepi until the end of the year. Given the current financial difficulties, both entities and the holding company The public has approved postponing the maturities until January pending a long-term solution from Grupo Prodi, which holds 55% of the capital.
Sources close to the company explain to elEconomista.es that he pool The bank gave its approval to postpone the payment of 6 million euros that were due before the end of the year to the month of January. Sepi did the same, which rescued the listed company after the pandemic, with 6 million interest in aid, since the principal does not begin to be returned until 2025.
The decision of the creditors is not free. It occurs in exchange for the promise of Grupo Prodi, the company’s reference shareholder, to address a capital injection in the coming weeks. However, his words have not yet materialized into actions, although the gesture does not represent a severe setback either for banks – which are already discounting losses after the cuts from the latest restructuring – or for Sepi – due to the reputational risk of executing a company. rescued in trouble.
The postponement is just a small breath of oxygen for a company whose cash burn has become one of its big problems. At the end of 2023, the firm had a position of 109.9 million euros in cash and equivalents; a figure that shrank to 45.3 million as of June 30 and that according to financial projections would be around 6 million euros precisely before the double payment in December.
In this way, the Mexican group controlled by José Miguel Bejos has just over a month to find a solution. At the end of the first half of the year, the group had a negative net worth of 94.5 million, which until now it has been able to manage without consequences due to the bankruptcy moratorium decreed by the Government and the unapplied effects of the 119 million in participating loans obtained. The problem: the deadline to overcome this situation ends on December 31 and in the first half of 2024 it has already lost 26 million. Furthermore, it remains to be seen the figure once the provision of 100 million for the litigation in Algeria with Sonelgaz is applied. Last week, of course, Duro Felguera said that the net worth of the dominant company for commercial purposes “remains positive.”
The truth is that beyond a capital injection from the Prodi Group itself, it seems difficult to find more solutions. First, because the Official Credit Institute (ICO) will not guarantee 100% of the new financing that can be requested from banks that are already frightened by the name of Duro Felguera in their risk departments. In fact, they have frozen guarantees and the request to achieve guarantees of 350 million contemplated in the strategic plan of the listed company seems a chimera.
It remains to be seen what role Sepi will play. To begin with, according to the new bankruptcy law, public credits – such as the 120 million already contributed – cannot be subject to haircuts and can only be postponed. However, it is in talks with the company to see how to provide additional support in the face of the risk of letting a rescued company fall.
The other fronts of the Sepi
The agreement between Duro Felguera and Sepi has led the public company to renegotiate again with one of the rescued companies through its fund for strategic companies, which was created due to the pandemic and disbursed more than 3,000 million in 30 operations. Even though he holding company chaired by Belén Gualda has not suffered any default until 2023, according to its accounts, it has seen how several of these companies have asked for help again due to the need to restructure their liabilities. The negotiations have become tense due to the public nature of the credit granted, which was highly protected by the new Bankruptcy Law and prevents the imposition of any haircut (Article 616 bis).
Apart from Asturian engineering, Losán launched an SOS to the market and entered into pre-competition last summer. The negotiations with the bank and the public entity have been extended until the last moment due to various disagreements, although a new viability plan has finally been presented.
The group of dental clinics Vivanta, from Ares and Portobello, and with the airline Volotea have also reached an agreement with Sepi. Both have only asked for more margin to pay the interest on part of their loan. Meanwhile, the Serhs restaurant group, which received 30 million between participatory and ordinary loans, has hired NK5 as a restructuring expert. The debt-laden balance has also taken its toll on the hotel company Meeting Point, with a large presence in the Canary Islands and with 35 million from Sepi. The company, owned by the bankrupt FTI, has requested three more months of extension to negotiate and not have to file for bankruptcy.
The last of the companies to request a review of the conditions of their rescue from SEPI has been Airtificial. Last October, the company agreed to defer payment of the ordinary and participatory loan installments and set a new calendar.
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