ZAGREB, April 26, 2018 – Agrokor’s five financial creditors – Fidelity International, Knighthead Capital Management, Sberbank of Russia, VTB Bank (Europe) and Zagrebačka Banka – said on Wednesday that claim filings based on guarantees issued by Agrokor’s subsidiaries had been reviewed and that they “are fully lawful and valid”, accusing some of the protagonists in the process of Agrokor’s restructuring “of publicly promoting their particular interests”.
The statement was issued following allegations by some of the stakeholders who perceive the guarantees as questionable.
“Agrokor’s financial and legal advisers performed a thorough review of all claim filings, including claim filings based on guarantees issued by Agrokor’s subsidiaries. The claims on the basis of guarantees were examined and determined to be fully lawful and valid and have been recognized by the Extraordinary Administrator as valid claims, i.e. legally binding obligations of each of the respective operating companies which made a commitment under the guarantee agreements,” reads the statement.
The key five creditors insist that the emergency administration is doing a good job and say that the allegations are aimed at undermining the administration’s success. “Many guarantees, which are admitted claims in the extraordinary administration proceeding, whose objectives are undoubtedly of systemic importance for the Republic of Croatia, are being challenged by different stakeholders to further their particular interests endangering the success of the extraordinary administration proceeding.”
The statement expounds that “guarantees are commonly used in financing transactions, particularly for conglomerates such as Agrokor, and are frequently used by Croatian lenders.”
“In the case of Agrokor, operating companies provided guarantees to financial and credit institutions that were financing the group. These guarantees enabled the provision of several billions of euros of funding that benefitted the group and, indirectly, the broader Croatian economy. All guarantee obligations were in compliance with the governing laws of the financing documents and they were disclosed to the public in a timely and proper fashion,” reads the statement on Agrokor’s web site.
“Unsubstantiated media claims from persons who are publicly promoting their particular interests, by presenting them as a matter of general and public interest, are not for the benefit of Agrokor’s businesses, Agrokor’s suppliers, Agrokor’s employees or attainment of the objectives of the Extraordinary Administration Act.
“Since this issue is of great importance for the Croatian economy, it is critical that the group’s contractual obligations are adhered to so that the extraordinary administration procedure can continue as intended to ensure a value-maximizing outcome and fulfil goals of the Act. With the imperative objective to implement the Settlement Plan as quickly as possible given the statutory deadline, ongoing challenges to financial creditor rights will only compromise the process and cloud the optimistic outlook Agrokor currently enjoys.”
The financial creditors express support for the Agrokor group and “are actively participating in the extraordinary administration proceedings with the aim of ensuring the long-term sustainability of the group and successfully achieving all objectives of the Extraordinary Administration Act,” says the statement.
