This week, Barcelona’s No. 2 commercial court announced a historic and pioneering decision. The largest family business of the Catalans will cease to be a family business. Due to the new bankruptcy law and the large debt the family has incured RubiraltaJudge Alvaro Lobato Lavin transferred ownership Celsa Group to various creditor funds. A decision of unprecedented magnitude on Spanish soil and, among many other things, 10,000 jobs between different factories and business centers. Of these, 2,400 are located in Catalonia, where the main steel mill is located in Castellbisbal.
Concern grew rapidly after the decision, both among staff and among different administrative authorities. Both the Government and the Generalitat Government, Francesc Rubiralta and his is billing around 6 billion euros per year, thanks to maintaining the decision-making center of a strategic company for the Spanish economy. But the decision is clear and the property should soon be transferred to a group of mutual funds. What will be Celsa’s future now?
What is Celsa?
Celsa is an established steel giant. 1967 Under the name Compañía Española de Laminación SA. Its first factory was in Sant Andreu de la Barca and it has grown into a giant with an annual turnover of around 6,000 million euros, currently employing more than 10,000 people in Spain.
A company considered strategic under Spanish legislation, as it is Europe’s third largest steel producer. It is a particularly energy-intensive sector, making it Spain’s third largest consumer of industrial electrical energy. Its production is equivalent to 0.3% of Spain’s GDP and its activity accounts for 3% of the freight traffic in the port of Barcelona.
Celsa was a family business until the final judgment. Francesc Rubiralta RubioHe is the eldest son of Francesc Rubiralta Vilaseca (the other being Josep Maria), one of the company’s two founding siblings.
In order to maintain their status and weight in the steel market and to adapt to the new environmental requirements, Rubiraltalar has invested heavily in its facilities, largely from debt. According to the sentence, the pending commitments of the steel giant are obvious 2.9 billion eurosMost of them borrowed funds from property-related lawsuits and winners.
Who are the new masters?
Just as the previous property had a ‘face and eyes’ and can be recognized in the figure of Francesc Rubiralta, the discreet but influential head of the family group, Celsa’s new owners are a fundraiser of diverse origins. These vary between banks Like Deutschebank, it is recognized by mutual funds with a traceable history such as the German HSBC (commercially known as International Kapitalanlagegesellschaft MBH) or American Trinity Investments. Although there are companies venture capital Those who invest where they see profitable regardless of the product, such as Cross Ocean USD ESS II or Goldentree.
These companies will not be involved in the day-to-day running of the company, where they will appoint a board of directors led by a CEO. They did not want to hint at this at this time, but reported that they were looking for “highly reputable and world class profiles”.
List of companies that have sued before a judge for their conversion 1,352 million € Debt-to-Equity ratios were: Rathmines, Deutschebank, London Branch, International Kapitalanlagegesellschaft MBH, SDF 2 Attorney, Cross Ocean USD ESS II, Cross Ocean AGG II, Sculptor Investments, Trinity Investments, Goldentree and BV and AIO VII.
When will the funds come into play?
The date when Rubiraltas will hand over the keys to the steel group and leave the administration is not yet clear. And it is the fact that the moment in question depends on a set of conditions and the decision starts a new process. Concursal law This increases uncertainty.
In addition, the industrial giant’s size means that the Government has labeled it a strategic company for the Spanish economy, subjecting the operation to foreign takeover law. And this, since the funds creditors If their headquarters are outside of Spain, the Administrator must give permission for the operation in advance.
It is something that the Ministry of Industry is already responsible for highlighting, and both Rubiralta and the unions are trying to stop the inflow of funds and avoid citing the rest of the family businesses, especially for the latter. this will require
Is it the last sentence?
Yes, the new bankruptcy law took effect at the end of September 2022 and in full on January 1, 2023. This law, if the debt of a good is more than its real value, the arbitrator who decides whether a good is in the hands of its creditors, the value is the judge of the trade. And the judge of the 2nd court of Barcelona, Alvaro Lobato LavinIt was announced on September 4.
In his judgment, “In a modern competitive economy, the market is and should be the sole arbiter of economic survival.” And after examining all the evidence, he thought that Rubiraltas owed more than Celsa was worth, and started transferring the property to the funds in exchange for some of that debt (1.352 million euro).
Unlike other processes where an appeal is possible before the decision of the first instance court, neither TSJC nor TC will be able to make a decision in such processes. That doesn’t stop Rubiralta’s lawyers from examining the sentence to the millimeter to take the case to another stage, but officially the sentence is final and only government intervention can delay it.
What will happen to 10,000 jobs and what is the funding plan?
“Given what the funds are doing at other companies, it’s normal for us to be uneasy,” said one union source interviewed. troop divisions UGT And CCOO they close ranks with the Rubiralta, whom they clash with but know at the forensic center. Both centers are still working on the sentence to complete their official positioning.
Sources consulted from both organizations agreed that they would be well above the Government in obtaining this document. adequate guarantees He said the funds did not wait for a reasonable amount of time to sell the industry conglomerate piecemeal or reduce working conditions to save costs. More than 10,000 direct jobs and fees The above-average ones are up for grabs.
The message that mutual funds announce to the public is continuity. “Some of the key priorities of the new council will be to develop Celsa’s operational management to make it a European leader in the industry, protect businesses and ensure sound financial management,” the statement said.
It is a consistent position that the operation must receive the ‘approval’ of the Government, without which the transfer is not possible due to Celsa’s special protection. law against foreign takeovers. The management made it clear: For this to happen, workers and decision-making centers must remain as they are in Spain.