Felipe Benjumea, president of Abengoa, returns to the charge in its dual efforts to recover prestige and profitability. Through Inversion Corporativa (IC), the society through which it participates in the capital of the company (which was a majority with the 51,39% and currently has a 2.9 per cent), has filed a lawsuit against the banks Santander and HSBC to the claims 1.005 billion euros for the damages they caused him to provoke his departure from the presidency in October of 2015, two months before the company entered the preconcurso of creditors. The demand, which is handling the release Of Carlos Remón, was submitted in July and accepted for processing by the Court of First Instance number 43 of Madrid in September. The request is added to two other societies, Finarpisa and Ardachon, represented by the attorney Pablo Ureña.
The two banks, the main lenders of the group, refused to sign the September 14, 2015 the letter of assurance for a capital increase of € 650 million, according to lawyers, that they were committed to Benjumea. This refusal, in his opinion, “caused the collapse of Abengoa”. The Santander, represented by Rodrigo Echenique (president of Santander Spain), “imposed a condition so surprising and unexpected, which was that Benjumea was expelled from the presidency”, according to has explained the lawyer Álvaro Remón Peñalver in the presentation of the demand to the press. Remón has said that Echenique transmitted to the council of administration that a condition of “indispensable and inexcusable”. According to Remón, so it is in the proven facts of the judgment of the National court of January 11, 2018, and acquittal of Felipe Benjumea of unfair administration.
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The condition imposed by the Santander was unknown initially by HSBC on the day of the signing, but later consented, as recorded in the cited judgment, says Remón, it adds that “these actions launched the financial operators, consultants, advisors and the market Galabet in general, a message against of the financial position of Abengoa, which generated a wave of speculation and uncertainty, and the total loss of confidence in the company which prevented the operation.”
“When, on the 23rd of September 2015, the letter is signed and Felipe Benjumea was dismissed, a fact that increased the situation created on September 14, before the impossibility to justify the departure of the president, the company had crossed the point of no return, suffering cancellations of liquidity lines, preventing the operation may present itself to the market and weakening the liquidity of the company until it could no longer meet their financial obligations and entered in the process of preconcurso the November 25, 2015”,
The action brought by Benjumea part of the quoted sentence of the last January in which he was acquitted of the imputation of unfair administration of which he was accused to the citizen Íñigo Mac-cohon, and 206 more shareholders to members of the Platform of Affected by Abengoa, claiming that would return the compensation of 11.7 million that had been received. In the processing of the complaint stated Echenique and Paul Lopez Henares, spain, by the HSBC. The demand is based on the act of the banks generated a damage valued at 1,100 million by the signatures Accuracy and Brattle, so that there is a relationship of causality, and the event of any action of liability on the part of banks, as explained by Remón.
The banks have justified their actions in that the company had entered into a spin and I needed a change in management, which forced them to replace the president. On the demand have responded, as have been referred to the attorneys of the IC, which was out of time because it had been over a year since that occurred the impeachment, that Abengoa had already entered into crisis in June, which was not expected to sign anything on the 14th of September and that the demand is for Corporate Investment, but not of Abengoa. In the opinion of the lawyers, these arguments are easily rebutted because the term account from the date of the ruling (January 11, 2018), on the date of June, 2015, the Bank Santander had assured them that the action was worth the double when it was priced at two euros and provided 200 million and the date of the letter of assurance, yes, it was fixed on the 14th of September.” In regards to the IC, argues that “both can sue the injured person directly as the shareholder”.
