Board of Creditors disputes advertised sale of Jugoremedija
The sale of this pharma company as a legal entity through a public auction, which was advertised last weekend, was disputed by the Board of Creditors on Monday, September 19, 2017, as Novosti learns. The complaint filed at the Commercial Court of Zrenjanin, which is conducting the bankruptcy proceedings, says that the board requires a postponement, but also an overrule of the decision on the sale, claiming that it is biased and unlawful because of the failure to honor the position of the creditors that the property of Jugoremedija should be monetized through a public collection of bids, whereas the dispute with the Novi Sad-based Union-Medic over the return of the permits for marketing medical drugs should first be completed.
– By selling the plant before the closing of this dispute, the usurper of these permits, Union-Medic, the only one with interest to buy Jugoremedija without them, is privileged. To all other potential bidders, the purchase is a risky venture. There would not be competition at the auction, nor could the price be reached that would lead to the most favorable settlement of creditors, which is the main purpose of the bankruptcy proceedings – Vladimir Pecikoza, head of the Board of Creditors, told Novosti and compared the advertised sale of Jugoremedija to offering a car without an engine.
The permits, that is, the licenses for medical drug production, are certainly the most valuable piece of property of the Zrenjanin-based pharma company. According to the latest estimate, Jugoremedija is worth around EUR 32 million, of which EUR 16 million comprises the value of the licenses. The bankruptcy trustee set the starting price in the amount of 50% of the total estimated value of the property – around EUR 16 million. Instead of the licenses, potential purchasers are offered the said lawsuit, along with 12 facilities, the equipment, the head office building and auxiliary facilities with a total area of 74,000 square meters.
– As the licenses for 22 medical drugs are the most valuable piece of the bankruptcy debtor's property, the Board of Creditors previously ordered the bankruptcy trustee to file a suit for their return. The trustee, however, ignored this, and the bankruptcy judge, Aleksandar Stoiljkovski, claims that the inclusion of the lawsuit in the sales ad solves all problems – Pecikoza says.
Union-Medic became the owner of the licenses in 2013, after it leased the facilities in Zrenjanin and reinitiated the production of numerous drugs which were registered as Jugoremedija's intellectual property. The Novi Sad-based company procrastinated with the bankruptcy proceedings until last year by announcing a reorganization plan. Finally, last year, they gave up on adopting the plan, but they also canceled the lease agreement. They, however, continued producing the drugs in Novi Sad, refusing to honor the obligation from the contract and return the licenses, citing as the excuse the request for compensation for registration expenses...
The bankruptcy trustee, Radovan Savic, notified the Medicines and Medical Devices Agency of Serbia of this, but also the competent ministries and the Government of the Republic of Serbia. He pointed to the possibility of Union-Medic's misuse of the licenses.
Union-Medic has not commented on the accusations coming from Zrenjanin and has not expressed interest in purchasing Jugoremedija officially. As Novosti learns, those interested in the purchase are the Association of Pharmaceutical Producers of Russia, two companies from Novi Sad and one from Bijeljina, as well as several businessmen, among which is former minister Predrag Bubalo.
Claims amounting to EUR 27 million
The recognized claims of the creditors of Jugoremedija amount to around EUR 27 million. The biggest part relates to banks and the tax administration, which are secured creditors, with mortgages on real estate. According to the current scenarios, it is not likely that everyone can be settled from the sale. In addition to 450 former workers, small shareholders, around 3,000 of them, will likely end up empty-handed, as will the state, which owns 42% of the shares.
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