The forthcoming ruling will decide the trajectory of Celsa and whether family control by Rubiralta endures or if the company’s assets must be liquidated to satisfy creditors by this week’s deadline. The hearing on Tuesday will reveal the final outcomes, with experts who observed the last oral session warning that the current assets are unlikely to meet debt maturities five years from now. They also warned that the steel group’s turnover could shrink in the near term, complicating its ability to strengthen the financial position of the business.
So far, the case has moved through several versions of the narrative. Management has sought to cast creditors as detached from the company’s daily operations, suggesting that if creditors gained control, the company would face disaster. They have also questioned the credibility of expert reports produced for the funds, which valued Celsa’s current worth below its contractual debt. This valuation is central to the case: if the court determines that Celsa’s debt is worth less than what the company owes, control could pass to the creditors.
At the center of the dispute, current company leadership and the government had agreed on a loan of 550 million euros with favorable terms in exchange for the recovery of funds. Yet those who pressed for the trial did not accept this arrangement. A specialist employed by the financial institution Kutxabank argued that the proposed restructuring plan—supported by most creditors but opposed by this institution—was misaligned with the company’s realities. The specialist warned that continuing payments into the fifth year would be unlikely.
An expert assessment placed the steel group’s employment level around 10,000 people across Catalonia, Euskadi, and Cantabria, with estimated value between 1,000 and 1,600 million euros, signaling a figure well below current debt levels. The Rubiralta family faces approximately 2.7 billion euros in two major loan facilities with funds that include sculptor, Senior Vice President, golden tree, transoceanic, and JP Morgan.
The parties have attempted to force a resolution through a legal agreement, proposing that Rubiralta transfer 100% of Celsa’s property to the creditors to recover the debt they claim cannot be paid. Deloitte, hired by the funds to evaluate Rubiraltas, has tempered expectations about Celsa’s capacity to improve its business going forward, reinforcing concerns that Rubiraltas will have limited ability to borrow more than today.
Uncertainty Over Green Steel
Deloitte highlighted that the steel industry is highly sensitive to economic cycles and projected a decline in activity over the coming years, estimating a 15% drop in billing for 2024 and 2025. The assessment also cast doubt on the future prominence of green steel as a strategic product for Celsa, noting that the term’s precise legal definition remains unclear and that Celsa is not the sole participant in this market. The report pointed to excess European production capacity that continues to pressure profitability across the sector.
The forthcoming decision by Judge Álvaro Lobato of Barcelona’s No. 2 Court, scheduled for next Tuesday, will determine who ultimately controls the dominant Catalan industrial firm and one of Spain’s largest steel producers. The company reportedly moves between 500 and 600 million euros in monthly supplier payments and posted a turnover of 6.084 billion euros in 2022, underscoring the high stakes of this case.