The creditor committee of the Chilean subsidiary Pesca Chile rejected an offer from Pescanova to extend until May or June the sales process of Pesca Chile and their salmon subsidiaries Acuinova and Nova Austral, according to the Europa Press news agency.
Chilean newspaper Diario Financiero reported that Chadwick, Pesca Chile’s reorganization administrator, will continue negotiating the sale of the Chilean company with the Canada-based Cook Aquaculture and Econsult.
The same newspaper last week published an interview with the Pescanova President, Juan Manuel Urgoiti, who expressed outraged at the change of mind of the Chilean creditors after meetings where they had reached a semi-agreement.
Urgoiti also announced that they will use all possible means to avoid the sale of the subsidiaries. In the same interview, Urgoiti said that Chadwick sent them a letter where they asked for guarantees to Pescanova’s bankruptcy administrator that they can’t assume according to the Spanish Law.
Pesca Chile is very important for Pescanova. As regional newspaper Faro de Vigo published, they hope that in the future the company is representing the 30 percent of the gross profit of the giant fishery. Furthermore, it is very important for their fleet, because if Pescanova loses it, they also lose their ships, and the USD 254 million (EUR 186 million) they invested last year in the company’s salmon farms.
In Spain this new situation has also affected the bank’s decision on the best offer for control of Pescanova. According to the regional newspaper La Voz de Galicia, the bank decided to extend the deadline by a few weeks for choosing among the options — initially established on 20 January.
On the table is the offer chosen by Pescanova´s board of directors and lead by Damm, and a second option from investment funds Cartesian and Bluecrest. According to the media based on sources close to the company, this last offer could oust Damm’s bid because it could be more attractive to the bank. Furthermore, a third option from the creditor banks cannot be ruled out.
