Spain's Abengoa reaches agreement to avoid bankruptcy

Spanish company Abengoa has reached an agreement with creditors in order to avoid Spain's largest corporate bankruptcy, the company reported on Thursday.

According to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), investors such as Centerbridge Partners LP, Abrams Capital, Varde Partners LP, KKR Credit and Elliot Management Corporation, will provide 1.17 billion euros (about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars) of new loans in exchange for a 50 percent stake.

Both investors and creditor banks, such as Spanish lenders Banco Popular and Banco Santander, will own between 90 and 95 percent of Abengoa depending on the targets the company is able to meet.

The current shareholders and a part of the company owned by the founding Benjumea family will own about 5 percent of the company, which will also receive 307 million euros in financial guarantees.

The renewable-energy producer had been negotiating with creditors since November in order to avoid becoming Spain's largest corporate bankruptcy. Abengoa's debt had reached 8.903 billion euros in September, 2015.

The company was born in 1941, it employs 24,306 people worldwide and works in more than 80 countries. (1 euro = 1.11 U.S. dollars)

Source : XINHUA