Volytsia-Agro creditors file claims worth more than UAH 2 billion, with a quarter from ADM
Creditors of Volytsia-Agro have filed claims worth more than UAH 2 billion, but the court has so far recognised only UAH 30.5 million in claims from UkrAgroProtect, the creditor that initiated the bankruptcy proceedings, Nazarіi Adamchuk, the bankruptcy trustee of Volytsia-Agro, told Latifundist.com in an interview.
“The rest are still being reviewed: essentially, each creditor's claim is a separate mini-trial within the bankruptcy proceedings. Therefore, the final amount will only become clear after the register of creditors is formed,” he explained.
ADM has filed the largest claim, worth approximately UAH 500 million, or about a quarter of the total claims. However, even if the claim is fully recognised, the company will not be able to control the bankruptcy proceedings on its own.
“In bankruptcy proceedings, creditors effectively become shareholders of the company: the number of votes depends on the amount of claims recognised by the court. Roughly speaking, every UAH 1,000 in claims is one share,” Adamchuk said.
According to him, in some cases, a single creditor obtains more than 50% of the votes and effectively controls the process on its own. In the case of Volytsia-Agro, there is currently no such creditor.
“Even if ADM's claims are recognised in the amount it has filed, it will have to reach agreements with other creditors,” the bankruptcy trustee said.
Other Volytsia-Agro creditors include Sense Bank, Kernel, MHP, Louis Dreyfus, Cargill and other companies.
Adamchuk noted that no obviously artificial or “fabricated” claims have so far been identified among the creditors, which could allow the owners to retain control over the bankruptcy proceedings.
“This does not prove that the collapse was accidental, but at least for now, the case does not look like a classic pre-arranged bankruptcy in which the debtor creates a controlled majority,” he concluded.
