The process of reaching a settlement under the extraordinary administration procedure of Agrokor is one of the most complex in Croatia and in Europe due to the complexities of Agrokor as a business and the total amount of the debt as well as the large number of creditors, 5.700 of them. This section contains all the news on the process of reaching of a settlement for all the key stakeholders, as well as the latest details and developments.
Agrokor Financial Restructuring Project Receives Prestigious International Award in Cleveland
27. Sep 2019.
On 26 September 2019 in Cleveland Fabris Peruško was presented with the Turnaround and Transaction Award (TMA) for the financial restructuring of Agrokor, proclaimed by the industry in the USA to be the most significant international procedure of its kind in the world in the ‘international transaction of the year’ category and one of the world’s 12 most significant international restructuring procedures in 2018.
Fabris Peruško, Extraordinary Commissioner of Agrokor and CEO of Fortenova Group, accompanied by the domestic and foreign legal advisors Tin Dolički of the Law Firm Bogdanović & Dolički and Wolfram Prusk of the Law Firm Kirkland & Ellis, accepted the award on behalf of the entire team that ran the restructuring process of Agrokor during the Extraordinary Administration Procedure which resulted in the Settlement Plan between the creditors and its successful implementation.
„This award is yet another great international recognition to the demanding process of rescuing an exceptionally significant Croatian and regional company. We are particularly pleased to receive the recognition form professionals working on similar projects worldwide on a daily basis. The fact that in a competition of more than 100 global projects they have ranked the Extraordinary Administration Procedure at Agrokor among the best speaks on behalf of the demanding nature and scope of the restructuring and its impact on both the national and the regional economies“, said Fabris Peruško, Extraordinary Commissioner of Agrokor and CEO of Fortenova Group on the occasion of receiving the award and added:
„I would like to point out that the TMA award is an acknowledgment to a number of individuals who have in the various phases made a great contribution to the success and conclusion of each individual stage of the process. Hence this is an opportunity to thank them all once again. Amongst others – thank you to Ante Ramljak, the Extraordinary Commissioner in charge of the first phase of the procedure as well as the advisors and advisory teams that supported the work of the Extraordinary Administration and over the course of that stage as well as later in the process made a key contribution to stabilizing the company and achieving a settlement among the creditors. Our suppliers and business partners and particularly all our employees as well as customers were one of the backbones in saving the system. The Government of the Republic of Croatia, particularly Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and former Deputy Prime Minister Martina Dalić, played a crucial role not only in securing the legal framework for the Extraordinary Administration Procedure, but also later during the process, especially at times at which they invested their human and political capital in the successful completion of other key stages in the process, such as achieving the settlement among the creditors.
Unfortunately I cannot mention everyone by name, but thanks to all of them Fortenova Group – the company created by the implementation of the Settlement Plan of Agrokor’s creditors – today still operates on all markets of the region, employing more than 52 thousand people and slowly by surely reducing its leverage and becoming a healthy and prosperous company.
We have all together demonstrated exceptional social responsibility and proved to have the social capital required to deal with very complex problems. The international professional public has very well recognized the true effect of Agrokor’s restructuring, which was accomplished over a very short period“, said Fabris Peruško, Extraordinary Commissioner of Agrokor.
The TMA award is one of the world’s most important industry acknowledgements, as TMA is one of the world’s leading non-profit associations assembling experts who participate in restructuring projects worldwide. The award is presented by the Awards Committee that consists of thirteen members representing a cross section of TMA professionals – from legal to accounting and finance professionals and the winners are selected in a rigorous peer-review process of vetting the procedures nominated for the award in several rounds of analysing and valuating the data of the transactions.