February 2 (SeeNews) - A primary court in North Macedonia's Kavadarci opened bankruptcy proceedings against local ferronickel producer Euronickel Industries, former Feni Industries, local media reported on Friday.
The court appointed Aco Petrov as bankruptcy administrator, state-run Macedonian Information Agency (MIA) reported.
Employees of Euronickel Industries filed a court request for the launch of bankruptcy proceedings against the company last week, seeking compensation for three months of unpaid salaries, local media reported. The factory employs over 800 people.
In the meantime, local lender Komercijalna Banka is in negotiations with several potential investors to sell Euronickel Industries assets worth 37.9 million euro ($41.2 million) which were seized through a procedure for forced collection of claims, the bank said last week. Komercijalna Banka is the main creditor of Euronickel Industries, which is facing operational difficulties stemming from high energy costs and a decline in orders, according to local media reports. Bankruptcy proceedings against the company will not affect the sale of the assets, as Komercijalna Banka is free to sell them without limitations.
Euronickel Industries was acquired by Switzerland-based private equity fund Global Special Opportunities Ltd (GSOL) in 2019.
($ = 0.919 euro)