BRATISLAVA, December 30, (WEBNOVINY) — Trustee in bankruptcy of the chemical company Novacke Chemicke Zavody (NCHZ) sent a letter to the government’s privatization agency, the National Property Fund (FNM), with an appeal to use its option pursuant to the law on strategic companies and make a bid for the bankrupt company. The trustee in bankruptcy also ended the sale of the bankrupt company without selecting a wining offer. “We have been informed today that the trustee in bankruptcy used the opportunity to refuse all bids and terminated the tender without the company being sold within the deadline set by law,“ said representative of the company M-Energo Miroslav Remeta for SITA news agency. M-Energo, which is one of the creditors of NCHZ, offered EUR 2 million in the tender, with just this one bid received.
“The trustee in the bankrupt chemical company NCHZ is proceeding strictly in compliance with corresponding provisions of the law on bankruptcy and restructuring as well as still effective provisions of the law on strategic companies. On that account, the trustee will preserve the possibility to apply the statutory rights and possibilities to all subjects to which the above provisions apply,” wrote Vladimira Gedrova, PR consultant for NCHZ, for SITA news agency.
“The FNM has not received any offer from the trustee in bankruptcy yet,” said Chairwoman of the Executive Board of FNM Anna Bubenikova for SITA. After the fund receives the offer, it would have a deadline of 120 days for an analysis of further procedure.
“It was the National Property Fund that objected to the sale of the company to the only one bidder. We now expect what solutions the FNM will come up with accommodating interest of all creditors, securing the highest possible yield and operation of the company. We will support all good solutions,” said representative of M-Energo Miroslav Remeta for SITA news agency.
Until now, the government has been unwilling to apply the law on strategic companies, which allows the state to buy assets of the company. “I find this law in conflict with the Constitution, it belongs to year 1948,” said Minister of Economy Juraj Miskov in November. However, his predecessor Lubomir Jahnatek (SMER-SD) thinks that the government should try to even up the offer of M-Energo amounting to EUR 2 million, acquire the chemical company and sell it in a tender for at least the price set by an authorized expert, which is EUR 127 million.
The company is a major central European supplier of chemical materials for a wide range of industries. Production of chemical products is provided by manufacturing facilities of three production units. The company manufactures and sells products on the basis chlorine, calcium carbide and industrial gases, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The company exports its products to more than fifty countries worldwide. It currently has about 1,800 employees.
SITA