The Canarian industry JSP will go to auction after a year of competition

The Canarian industry JSP will go to auction after a year of competition

JSP is today more than ever on the tightrope. The judge has decided, at the request of the bankruptcy administrator, to authorize the sale of the production unit. Whoever pays the most will get it. / C7

The judge authorizes the “urgency” procedure due to the state of deterioration in which the company finds itself. It will be sold to the highest bidder and if there is no buyer it will go to liquidation

Silvia Fernandez

The future of JSP is increasingly uncertain. One year after it presented the pre-bankruptcy of creditors and, after numerous comings and goings of a more than debatable management and that has reduced production and its presence in the market almost to zero, the rescue and survival of this Canarian industry is complicated.

After the offer launched a few weeks ago by the Hiperion investment fund and in which it proposed to keep all the company's assets at zero cost and also without complying with the ERE agreement agreed with the staff, it has been
the bankruptcy administrator in charge of the process, Rafael Franco, the one who has made a move.

It has not done so precisely in favor of this investment fund, which throughout the process has had the support of the Sánchez family.

Frank
has requested the Mercantile Court number 2 of Las Palmas where this insolvency proceedings took place,
that authorizes the sale "by urgency" of the productive unit and the judge who leads the procedure, Guillermo Fernández, has authorized it through a car.

For practical purposes,
involves putting the company up for auction and offering it to the highest bidder. The one who pays the most will be the one who keeps it.

It can be Hiperion or any other investor because it will be awarded to whoever is willing to pay more and complies with the variables set by the administrator, among which is maintaining the greatest number of jobs.

For now, the “perimeter” of that sale has not been set, that is, if JSP will be sold as a whole or in parts. Everything will depend on the offers that are presented, as judicial sources point out.

It will be a specialized company that will look for bidders in order to get as much money as possible.

In this sense, according to these sources,
the bankruptcy administrator, Rafael Franco, has decided not to accept Hiperion's offer and open the sale to other bidders to try to obtain a higher price through the auction and obtain more funds to cover the greater amount of the debt that JSP has contracted and which exceeds 60 million euros.

If Hiperion wants to keep JSP, it will have to go this route and bid against other buyers, if any.

At this point, it would be desirable for investors interested in buying JSPs to appear and go ahead with production, but 'a priori' it seems complicated.

During the bankruptcy process, the situation of the company has completely deteriorated and currently almost all the factories are stopped. Their products have disappeared from supermarket shelves and other local and national brands have replaced them. Recovering those spaces is going to be a difficult task.

The situation is so serious that the bankruptcy administrator has requested that the sale procedure be urgent. With each passing day the opportunities for JSPs shrink.

De buyers do not appear in the auction that opens now and that will end in the summer, the next step would be the liquidation of isolated assets: ships, machines, land, vehicles... and consequently the disappearance of this company.

The JSP workforce is currently made up of 142 workers after the ERE was signed in January for 270 people, who accepted and left with the industry's commitment to pay them 25 days per year worked, with a limit of 16 monthly payments, for above the 20 days and the cap of 12 that Fogasa was going to pay them. Now everything is up in the air.

JSP Contest Timeline

For months the warehouses have been empty and production has almost completely stopped. /

C7

The pre-contest of creditors arrives

  1. one

    On March 3, 2021, the Canarian company José Sánchez Peñate (JSP), one of the most established industries in the Canary Islands and with well-known brands such as Celgan or Millac, presented the pre-insolvency proceedings in the Mercantile Court number 2 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, as a way of solving its economic-financial situation.

Workers' mobilizations

  1. one

    The pre-contest was followed by an ERTE due to force majeure that was rejected by the workers, who began a series of mobilizations in May to demand the intervention of the Government of the Canary Islands and its mediation before possible buyers in order to save the company. The ERTE was overthrown months later by the TSJC.

JSP negotiations with investors

  1. one

    Since the pre-contest was presented, the Sánchez family had talks with different investment funds interested in taking over JSP. Hiperion, Quantum and Vulcan Foods were some of those who showed interest. The council, divided, did not reach an agreement and it was impossible to close an agreement in pre-competition.

The creditors' contest is presented

  1. one

    On July 12, 2021 and after four months of unsuccessful negotiations, JSP files for bankruptcy. The company then assures that its objective is to achieve the continuity of the company, but the way in which the process has been carried out raises many questions. From then on, much of the product began to be discontinued.

The ERE is negotiated but Hiperion fails to comply

  1. one

    After changes in the board of directors and its production plummeting due to not being able to buy raw material, JSP proposes an ERE to 70% of the workforce. The deal closes in January this year. The ERE is sold as an essential condition to achieve the entrance of Hiperion. In April he launches his offer: he keeps everything at zero cost and breaches the ERE. The bankruptcy administrator rejects it and asks the judge to authorize the auction sale. In April 2022 the judge authorizes it.

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