Abengoa is at a defining moment for its future. Five companies have submitted bids to acquire 33 subsidiaries of the group, which is currently in bankruptcy. On Monday, they must submit a document with their final proposals, which will be examined by the Justice of the Peace of the Commercial Court 3 of Seville, Jesús Gines Gabaldón, in order to proceed with their sale. This is a judge’s notice to the parties after hearing reports made by Bankruptcy Administrator Guillermo Ramos (EY) on five proposals submitted by Urbas, Ultramar, RCP/Sinclair, Cox Energy and Terramar.

Buyers have three days to improve their offerings as the insolvency representative warns that part of the proposals did not guarantee the viability of the subsidiaries and contained inaccuracies, shortcomings and omissions, and even three of them do not include the purchase price or do not prove their economic and financial viability to be able to buy Abengoa. The bankruptcy trustee’s report analyzes the shortcomings of each of the proposals submitted and explains whether they meet legal requirements, but does not classify or classify these proposals in order of possible interest to the group’s future.

The labor situation in Abengoa reaches the “marginal situation”, for this reason the union UGT worries about “paying wages to Abengoa’s entire workforce” and “company uncertainty” As explained to Servimedia by Manuel Ponce, General Secretary of the Federation of Industry, Construction and Agriculture (FICA) of UGT Seville.

two years of uncertainty

The group’s 5,000 workers hope to learn the future of the Andalusian company, founded in 1941, whose crisis ended with the liquidation of the historic parent company Abengoa.

“UGT FICA Sevilla and Abengoa Workers’ Legal Representation express their existing concerns regarding the payment of wages for February of the entire workforce. This situation is combined with uncertainty day after day, month after month, especially in the last two years,” said Manuel Ponce to Servimedia.

Remember that ever since November 25, 2015 you are about thirty and the same number of ertes, caused constant anxiety of the staff”. And adds that “today, two Spanish investment groups, Urbas and Cox Energy, have expressed their financial support for the company so that its employees receive their salaries this month, pending a final award, which is subject to terms by a commercial judge. until the end of March.

Manuel Ponce notes that “from a social perspective, they appreciate the initiative and commitment of both Urbas and Cox Energy in their commitment to Abengoa. For this reason andWe hope that the payment of wages this month will be resolved satisfactorily for the workers.

The representatives of the workers hope that the largest number of employees and the headquarters in Seville will be preserved, as well as the continuity of the viability of the subsidiaries. Bidders to acquire Abengoa’s nearly 30 manufacturing subsidiaries centered in Abenewco are due to submit next Monday, February 27, an improvement in their bids to acquire the Seville multinational’s most viable group. Thus, the litigation is ongoing, during which the interested parties must explain their plans to provide the company with the liquidity and guarantees necessary to exit as winners in a final decision, which is expected to be known in the first half of March.

It is possible that fans of the Seville multinational do not want to make their full proposals known as a business strategy, waiting for the deadline to close and learning the rest of the proposals in the “improvement phase”. The first proposal presented by Urbas seems to have set the tone for the rest, although now each of them will have to demonstrate their potential. Assets are also up for auction for around €23 million, including Murillo’s Penitent San Pedro painting.

“Full government assistance” to ensure the viability of the new company

Last week, a monitoring table created last summer following an agreement between the central government, the Junta of Andalusia and the bankruptcy administrator convened in Madrid after a bailout requested by SEPI failed. At that meeting In attendance were Industry Minister Reyes Maroto, the junta’s Industrial Policy and Energy Adviser Jorge Paradela, company representatives, the bankruptcy trustee and trade unions.

The government then pledged that it would place “all public assistance” at its disposal to support the project and ensure the viability of the new company, once the Seville Commercial Judge had resolved the dispute. Except, This will contribute to the “attractiveness of the Seville company” with the possibility of obtaining new international contracts.

Meanwhile, Judge Jesús Gines, a few days ago, authorized Rioglass Servicios, owned by the Atlántica group, to acquire Abengoa Solar for 300,000 euros, along with 400 employees of the multinational Sevillian company. From March 1, workers and assets will become Atlantic, which has been a customer of Abengoa Solar so far.