The extraordinary administration of Agrokor will in the next few days again propose the number of members of the creditors’ council and the classification into groups to the Commercial Court in Zagreb, they responded to Hina’s inquiry from Agrokor, where they consider the interpretations of some creditors that an agreement cannot be reached within the legally prescribed deadline, i.e., by July 10, to be unfounded.
“The interpretations of some creditors that an agreement among Agrokor’s creditors cannot be reached within the legally prescribed deadline are not based on facts,” they say on Thursday in Agrokor.
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The High Commercial Court last week annulled the decision of the Zagreb Commercial Court which determined that the creditors’ council of Agrokor would have five members, the creditors were classified into special groups, and the case was returned to the first-instance court for a new procedure.
In Agrokor, they believe that the High Commercial Court expressed the opinion that the reasoning on which the Commercial Court’s decision was made is not clearly defined enough.
“Therefore, in the next few days, we will again propose to the Commercial Court the number of members of the creditors’ council and the classification of creditors into groups and further clarify such a proposal,” they announce from Agrokor.
They also emphasize that the creditors’ council can be established as soon as the creditors in each of the groups elect their representatives and there is no legally prescribed minimum deadline for that.
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“Since the formation of a permanent council is in the interest of the creditors themselves, we expect them to elect their representatives quickly. This would be good for the process, but even if that does not happen, there are still no obstacles to reaching an agreement because the Law on the Extraordinary Administration Procedure in Article 31 clearly states that the Temporary Creditors’ Council has the same powers, rights, and obligations as the permanent creditors’ council and performs the function of the permanent council until its formation. Therefore, any waiver of those rights to the Temporary Creditors’ Council has no legal basis, just as there are no arguments for Franck’s claims that an agreement cannot be reached within the legally prescribed deadline due to the High Commercial Court’s decision. The principal agreement of the creditors reached on April 10 of this year has the support of the majority of creditors needed to reach an agreement, and as long as that is the case, reaching an agreement is not in question,” emphasizes the extraordinary administration of Agrokor.
“The process is proceeding as planned, there are many interested parties and conflicting interests, and the Court has a very active role in it as the agreement approaches and more work is involved. All these events are expected, especially before the final achievement of the creditors’ agreement in extremely complex processes such as the extraordinary administration procedure,” concludes the response from the extraordinary administration.
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Franck warned on Wednesday that the creditors’ council will likely not be able to be formed by the deadline for reaching an agreement in Agrokor, i.e., by July 10, after the High Commercial Court accepted the appeals of 10 domestic and foreign creditors and annulled the decision on the establishment of the creditors’ council of the group based on the classification of creditors into five groups.
The Law on the Extraordinary Administration Procedure for selecting members of the creditors’ council provides a deadline of 90 days after the call to creditors published in the Official Gazette, they stated from Franck and warned all other creditors and the general public that, respecting all legal deadlines, “the creditors’ council as the key body of the extraordinary administration procedure will likely not be able to be formed by the final date for reaching the creditors’ agreement, July 10.”
Since the High Commercial Court in its decision, referring to Article 9 of the Law on the Extraordinary Administration Procedure, stated that “the temporary creditors’ council is not a body of the extraordinary administration procedure,” and from the conclusion of the Commercial Court, it follows that this body does not perform the basic tasks for which it was appointed, Franck denies its members the right to give consent to the extraordinary commissioner on the final text of the agreement in the part relating to Franck’s claims.
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“An agreement between the debtor and the creditors can only be concluded based on Article 43, point 4 of the Law on the Extraordinary Administration Procedure. If the creditors’ council elected by the creditors themselves does not participate in the drafting of the agreement, but its role will be taken over by the temporary creditors’ council whose members were chosen by the former extraordinary commissioner, then such an agreement cannot be constitutional or legal, and Franck will have no choice but to hold the members of the temporary creditors’ council personally responsible for the damage caused to him by such actions,” they emphasize from Franck.
