The solution to the dispute between Celsa's creditors and the owners of the Catalan steelworks – the Rubiralta family – advances with the completion of the valuation of the company carried out by the mediator appointed by the commercial court number two of Barcelona, Lexaudit. The value of the company is 2,800 million euros, according to the creditors in a statement. The newspaper Expansión announced yesterday that the report, which is based on another by Grant Thornton, gives a valuation range of between 2,400 and 2,775 million. Celsa sources declined to comment on these figures.
What they did say was that the company "has valuations carried out by international investment banks that reflect a Grupo Celsa valuation of more than 6,000 million." The same sources indicated that "these assessments are based on updated projections of the business plan, made at the beginning of this year 2023."
According to the creditors, the debt that the company has contracted with them is around 3,500 million. For this reason, the funds consider that "since the value does not even cover the company's debt, Celsa's shares are worthless."
Sources consulted explain that in the report prepared by Lexaudit it calculates the value of the company by three different methods. Lexaudit details that "the overall valuation of Grupo Celsa, at the level of PICO companies, would be negative." The PICOs are the companies that own a part of the debt. The remainder is net financial debt.
Faced with this situation, the creditors' proposal is to follow the restructuring plan proposed in September and which contemplated keeping 100% of the shares. "We continue to work intensively with all those involved in the process with the aim of establishing a new stage for the company, consolidating its leading role in the Spanish steel industry, as well as its position as one of the main players within Europe," they said. .
Meanwhile, Celsa reported yesterday that it closed the 2022 financial year with a turnover of 6,084 million euros, 15.2% more. The gross result reached 867 million. The figures exceed the historical record achieved in 2021.
Among the creditor funds are Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, SVP and Cross Ocean, which took over debt that years ago was in the hands of banks at significant discounts.
