Urbas has defended before the market and its creditors the viability of its proposal for an agreement and has rejected the liquidation of the company, following the publication of the report by the Insolvency Administration.
The company communicated this Thursday to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) its objections to said report and has provided updated information on the Viability Plan presented on 19 October, with which it claims that it can fully meet the debt affected by the insolvency, without write-offs and within the planned schedule.
Urbas states that both the company itself and the independent expert Crowe conclude that the adjusted plan allows for the payment of 100% of the debt, with early repayments of up to 10% in the first year and an additional 15% in the second, leaving the remaining 75% for the third year.
The agreement versus liquidation
The company argues that business continuity offers a better solution for creditors than the opening of the liquidation phase. As it explains, the Insolvency Administration values Urbas's assets at 520 million euros in a continuity scenario and at 301.8 million in the event of liquidation, against a recognised liability of 126.9 million. However, Urbas questions whether these figures guarantee that creditors will recover their credits in full if the liquidation phase is ultimately opened.
The company argues that, in a forced sale scenario, the assets could be realised at very significant discounts and with higher costs and timelines. To support this thesis, it cites cases from the real estate sector where assets have been sold at significant reductions from their initial valuation.
Urbas also warns that liquidation could lead to a substantial increase in the payable liability, which could reach approximately 450 million euros, as a result of the legal proceedings opened with RS Lender and its subsidiaries in various jurisdictions.
The company explains that these litigations originate from a financing contract for 79 million euros and that RS Lender and its subsidiaries have claims for amounts far exceeding that. Urbas maintains that some of those claims would be duplicated and that a potential liquidation could hinder the legal defence of these proceedings.
In this context, Urbas believes that liquidation could reduce the recovery expectations of creditors and lead to a total loss of value for shareholders.
