Early reports are showing that embattled Spanish seafood giant Pescanova may be able to stop liquidation after all, with a new agreement leaving principal investors Damm and Luxempart out of the picture.
With hours remaining to the deadline to add support to the renewed proposal of Pescanova’s creditor agreement submitted before a Spanish court, Spanish media reported that, according to judicial estimates, more than 60 percent of the creditors supported it, exceeding the 51 percent necessary for its validation before the judge.
The agreement includes changes with regard to previous proposals, as last Monday the corporation, Damm and Luxempart and the main creditor bank (Banco de Sabadell, S.A., Banco Popular Español, S.A., Caixabank, S.A., NCG Banco, S.A., Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A., Bankia, S.A. y UBI Banca Internacional S.A. Sucursal en España) reached an agreement by which a “change is produced in the individuals providing financial support to the agreement.” This means, according to a “relevant fact” notice sent by Pescanova to the Spanish regulator CNMV, that Damm and Luxempart cede their position in favor of the financial institutions.
According to the notification, Damm and Luxempart will also be out of Pescanova’s board of directors; they will officially resign regardless of whether the agreement is approved or liquidation begins. The agreement indicates in the end, the creditor bank will recover EUR 1 billion ($1.3 billion) of debt instead of EUR 700 million ($977.92 million) that were originally set in the Pescanova’s creditor agreement submitted, Spanish media reports said.
As shown from the notification, the banks will inject EUR 125 million ($173.37 million) in “credit super-senior” and “it will be recognized to each of the creditors participating on it an additional credit of 2.4 euros per euro committed, constituting the resulting amount (300 million euros) a new tranche of subordinated debt.”
Supporters had until 3 p.m. Spanish time on 30 April to add their names to the agreement. According to Spanish media, votes will be counted following the deadline, but this process may take until next week.
