Budapest - The senior lenders of Hungarian isocyanates producer, BorsodChem, expressed their support for the company's current management and its debt-restructuring programme during an 8 Oct meeting held in Frankfurt, Germany, BorsodChem has revealed. The move is a first official response from the firm's bankers, following the recent expression of interest in acquiring equity in the firm by Yantai Wanhua, the Chinese maker of MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate).
The statement said: "The Senior Steering Committee of the senior syndicate expressed its strong support of the current management of BorsodChem and its expectations that the current management continues to operate BorsodChem after the implementation of the debt restructuring plan. Permira Funds and Vienna Capital Partners should remain majority shareholders, as was made clear by the banks. They are supportive of the current consensual restructuring proposal, which has already been agreed upon in principle by a majority of the senior syndicate on 6 October."
"We are very pleased that the senior lenders took a strong supporting position in the meeting," said BorsodChem ceo, Wolfgang Büchele. "This commitment to the current management team of BorsodChem and the shareholders is a very important step in the process. Whilst Yantai Wanhua might become a minority equity holder, all questions of synergy potentials could be discussed subsequently and could be implemented based on contractual agreements typical in the industry," he added.
Büchele previously told Hungarian national news agency MTI-Eco that Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes, which has purchased most of BorsodChem's mezzanine loans, was creating uncertainty at the company by not revealing its intention for the Hungarian isocyanate producer.
The meeting was attended by the representatives of the Hungarian firm's bankers (RBS, HBOS, Erste, Raiffeisen, K&H, Unicredit/HVB and GE) and representatives from Yantai Wanhua, BorsodChem and Permira. (RD)
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