November 9 (SeeNews) - A London court recognised on Thursday the extraordinary administration proceedings in England and Wales in respect of Croatia's ailing concern Agrokor, the company said.
Under the ruling, lawsuits filed against Agrokor in England and Wales will be stayed, except if they are part of the emergency administration process, Croatia's largest privately-held concern said in a statement.
On July 27, Ante Ramljak, Agrokor's extraordinary trustee, applied for recognition of the Croatian law on emergency administration in Agrokor in England and Wales.
The recognition application was challenged by Russia's Sberbank, a major creditor of Agrokor, which argued that the proceeding does not comply with the requirements of the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations and is contrary to the public policy of England and Wales.
A judge of the High Court in England, however, rejected each of Sberbank’s arguments, ruling in favour of the extraordinary trustee of Agrokor instead.
Sberbank earlier initiated arbitration proceedings against Agrokor and its 11 guarantors before the London Court of International Arbitration over loans the bank had lent to the concern.
On April 10, the Croatian government named Ante Ramljak as receiver of Agrokor to lead the restructuring process in Agrokor under a new law adopted by the parliament, which seeks to shield the economy from big corporate failures.