The liquidation proceedings of Abengoa parent firm Abengoa have been opened by the Commercial Court of Instance of Seville. This is due to the inability of the company to pay its multimillion-dollar debts. It began eight years ago, when it was able to recognize a debt of over 9,000 million euros. According to the company’s Friday report, he declared the dissolution of Abengoa and the dismissal all its administrators. This is to end the June 30 deadline without any success in reaching an agreement with its creditors.
The court has decided that Abengoa will be unable to administer or dispose of its assets as per the Bankruptcy Law. Clemente Fernandez, the current chair of the board of directors has been removed. However, the remaining members of the current board of directors, led by Clemente Fernandez as chairperson, may remain in their respective positions. Legal sources say that the bankruptcy administration will replace them.
The judge also ordered Abengoa’s parent company to present the liquidation plans for assets and rights that are integrated into the active masses, as required by law. Abengoa’s parent firm has virtually no assets, as the creditors in 2020 agreed to take its productive assets and transfer them over to Abenewco. According to the third rescue plan of the group, presented by Gonzalo Urquijo, the vehicle to save her, this company was to be.
The US fund TerraMar Capital played a key role in this planning. It wanted 70% of the company to be retained in return for 200 million euros of investment. Creditors would hold the remaining 30%. First, the State Industrial Participation Company had to approve the 249 million public aid request by six subsidiaries.
This was not the case in the end. Although the council, which is critical of TerraMar’s option, had requested an additional two months, the court denied the request due to a lack of guarantees. Fernandez’s team can appeal his decision.
Abengoa had a turnover last year of 1,000 million euros and operating profits in excess of 160 million. The company’s outstanding debt remained at 5,000 million. The SEPI, which controls 3.1% of shares in the company, did not complete its inspection of the company’s accounts. It questioned the validity and emphasized that the pending contingencies for various lawsuits and legal claims were close at 963 million euros.
Parallel to this, Abengoa’s pre-bankruptcy requests, which were made by 27 subsidiaries including Abenewco 1, will be processed. They would have four months to negotiate with creditors for a financial solution that could prevent the company’s imminent bankruptcy. This industrial group employs around 3,000 people in Spain, with a third in Andalusia.