After paying off debts, worth HRK one million, the Swiss Maritime Investment company will become the majority owner of the NCP Repair Shipyard Šibenik.
Swiss company ‘Swiss Maritime Investment’ has redeemed approximately HRK 100 million worth of NCP’s claims from Jadranska Banka bank in order to take over the bankrupt Šibenik shipyard. The contract was signed in late July with a 60 days deadline to deposit the money, after which they will become the majority owners of the shipyard, reports ŠibenikIN.
State Agency for Deposit Insurance and Bank Resolution (DAB), whose special company, ‘SPV za Sanaciju’, was in charge of selling foreign bank receivables to foreign investors, confirmed that the contract was signed.
“As the new owner of claims, after the assessing the possibility of charging through insurance instruments, the ‘SPV za Sanaciju’ has sought to minimize the cost of remediation by selling the claims of NCP and NCP Repair Shipyard Šibenik at the highest price achieved, which was higher than the collateral value,” explained Nensi Marin, chair of the Advisory Board of the Adriatic Bank.
“Since the transaction has not yet been fully implemented, all other information including the customer’s name, cost of receivables, as well as transaction details, cannot be disclosed as it is a business secret,” added Nensi Marin, chair of the Advisory Board of Jadranska Banka.
Swiss Maritime Investment company, which is registered in Switzerland, is allegedly comprised of foreign investors from Denmark, the United States and Switzerland, who in early April this year sent DAB a binding offer with the intent to settle all claims of the NCP to the Jadranska Banka. At the end of July, they finally signed an agreement by which their company took over one hundred million kunas of NCP debt and became the largest creditor of the shipyard.
“By paying off the debts, the Swiss Maritime Investment company will become the majority owner of the shipyard, which means that it will have the most votes ‘at the table’ and will be able to affect the future of this Šibenik company,” confirmed the bankruptcy trustee Milan Bariša Obradović. Obradović had announced the restructuring plan for the NCP back in spring this year, adding that it would be in line with the interests of the public. At that time the foreign investor was still unknown as well as the process of the insolvency proceedings and composition.
In short, the insolvency proceedings are still under way, only the name of the main creditor who is no longer a bank but a foreign investor has changed, but for NCP workers this is certainly good news because their fate will no longer be decided by the bankers but entrepreneurs from their line of business, which will, after paying off debt, own between 60 and 70 percent of the property.
“I cannot comment on this because NCP is not involved in the negotiations between DAB and foreign investors, but I certainly welcome the arrival of a strategic partner who will be a better investor than any bank, especially the bank which is in the process of resolution. Until the situation of the ownership becomes definitive, the most important thing for us is to keep working, and wait for the positive outcome,” says NCP Director Roko Vuletić.
The Swiss company intends to turn the debt of the company into capital and become the majority owner of the shipyard. They will keep the property of the shipyard, including assembly halls, machines and workers as well as a concession for the use of about 160 thousand square meters of the maritime domain in the shipyard area.
Another thing worth noting is that before the Swiss company, Turkish Dogus Group was also interested in taking over the Šibenik Shipyard. Several years ago, Dogus Group bought the concession from Goran Prgin, owner of NCP, in Mandalina, where the marina and hotel have been built in the meantime. The Turks wanted to take over all the NCP group companies that carry out shipbuilding and repair services of various types of ships and mega yachts, but have abandoned this plan after several months of research. All this happened last year when the Turks became owners of a large shipyard in Barcelona, renowned for the overhaul of mega yachts, and by taking over the Šibenik shipyard, they planned to expand their brand to the Adriatic Sea, thus controlling a great part of the business of overhauling yachts and mega yachts in the Mediterranean. After several months of negotiations on the takeover of the NCP, an understanding agreement had been signed, which is why the owner of the Dogus group Ferit Sahenk had been staying in Šibenik, but in the end, the deal fell through.
“If this takeover of NCP goes according to plan, it will be a big thing for Šibenik,” says county governor of the Šibenik-Knin County, Goran Pauk.
“According to the information I have, this deal will soon be in its final stage, and I think that it will all end well. Over the past few months, I have been intensely lobbying at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure to make a deal in the NCP case that will ensure the life and future of the shipyard and I believe this plan will succeed. Apart from redeeming the debt to the Jadranska Banka, which went through the DAB, it was important to define the future plans of the concession for the maritime domain, which is burdened with debt from the past, and it was important for investors to know where they stand before they take over the shipyard,” adds Goran Pauk.
According to the ŠibenikIn resources, the Swiss company was established by several companies from Denmark, Switzerland and the USA which are in the shipbuilding and shipping industry. The company was established exclusively for doing business in Šibenik.
Translated from ŠibenikIN
Photos: NCP
