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A German court has rejected a bankruptcy protection plan filed Wednesday by German Pellets, one of the world’s largest producers of wood pellets for heating, Handelsblatt has learned.
The insolvency court in Schwerin in northern Germany turned down the renewable energy company’s plan to effectively self-manage the bankruptcy process. Under the proposal, German Pellets’ founder Peter Leibold’s would have remained head of the company, with an insolvency administrator monitoring progress in the talks with bondholders.
Instead, the court has ruled in favor of a conventional bankruptcy. Bettina Schmudde of the law firm White&Case has been named the company’s insolvency administrator and will take charge of the proceedings. The court would not comment on its ruling when contacted by Handelsblatt.
A number of major bondholders, including investors in the United States, had been sharply critical of the plan because of Mr. Leibold’s continued leadership role, believing he should answer for the company’s financial collapse. Many had planned to vote against the plan, according to sources.
Frank Günther, a consultant who advised Germen Pellets on the bankruptcy and has been named its interim head, sharply criticized the court’s rejection and argued that most bondholders were behind it: “With this decision the court has defied the wishes of seven major creditors. That is unheard of,” he told Handelsblatt.
The planned bankruptcy, which
Handelsblatt first reported Tuesday, marks another setback for the country’s renewable-energy industry and a further warning sign for investors taking chances on high-yielding midsize German companies.
Thousands of investors bought German Pellets bonds, including $546 million in the United States, while creditors of two U.S. production sites linked to German Pellets may also be affected. In total, €760 million of investors’ money is at risk.
Marc Gericke, a lawyer for investors from Kanzlei Göddecke, told Handelsblatt that the self-managed insolvency plan amounted to “duping investors.” He argued that this kind of plan is designed for companies experiencing financial troubles but which are fundamentally sound. Of German Pellets, he said, “the problems seem to us to run much deeper than ‘only’ missing liquidity,” he said.
Picture Source: Bernd Wüstneck / DPA
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The English-language edition of Germany's leading business daily, Handelsblatt is part of the Dieter von Holtzbrinck Media Group, which also owns WirtschaftsWoche, the country's most-read business weekly, Der Tagesspiegel, Berlin's newspaper of record, and Die Zeit, the leading general-interest weekly.
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