May 2 (SeeNews) - Croatian coffee and snacks producer Franck believes a council of creditors of ailing Agrokor concern won't be set up by the deadline of July 10 after a local court overturned an earlier decision to differentiate among creditors, local media reported on Wednesday.
The High Commercial Court in Zagreb last month upheld the complaints lodged by 10 local and foreign creditors of Agrokor, among which Franck, squashing an earlier decision by a lower court, which had endorsed the dividing of Agrokor creditors into five groups based on their legal and economic positions, Hina news agency explained.
In January, the Commercial Court in Zagreb gave the green light to Agrokor to divide creditors into groups ahead of a vote on a debt settlement plan drafted by the concern's crisis management. It was said at the time that the creditors' council will have five members, and will comprise creditors of the food-to-retail concern with verified claims.
"The sorting of creditors and defining of groups is based on the records of claims filed and the differences in the legal position of each of the groups," Agrokor said at the time.
However, Franck along with Addiko Bank, Euroherc, OTP bank, Splitska banka, Vives Investment, Talal Springs, Ben Oldman Special Situations Fund, Banque Pictet&Cie and Russia's Sberbank objected this move and the basis for grouping the creditors into different categories.
Failure to establish a council of creditors by July 10 might delay the implementation of the debt settlement plan which is key to the restructuring of the concern under a special law on management of distressed companies of systemic importance for Croatia's economy popularly known as Lex Agrokor.
In December, Agrokor's crisis management unveiled a settlement plan, under which the creditors and suppliers of the troubled concern will take full control of a new holding company and its units, to which the assets of the sound segments of the Agrokor group will be transferred.
The proposed settlement plan must be submitted to the Commercial Court in Zagreb by July 10, 2018 at the latest. The settlement plan has to be approved by the creditors first, with the final say resting with the Commercial Court in Zagreb.
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