Ezentis suspended from trading pending SEPI bailout | comp

Ezentis was suspended from trading by the CNMV before the session opened, pending SEPI to resolve a public assistance request sent by the company today. Pre-open orders indicated a decrease of about 5%. Since the beginning of the year, more than 37% of the titles are left.

Last week, the company announced a €70m bailout for SEPI. The objective of this action is to recover the Group’s equity balance and obligation to repay overdue debts. The bailout was requested just two weeks before the expiration of the term for granting aid under the General Business Rescue Fund, which expires at the end of the month and on which aid for Celsa or Abengoa, among others, also depends.

The state-owned company will inform its decision before Tuesday. El Confidencial newspaper reported, Friday, that SEPI will not agree to bail out the company, which is controlled by Jose Elias, who is also the owner of Audax Renovables. Ezentis, which lost €144 million in 2021, went into passive equity, worth €163 million, at the end of that year. Under normal circumstances, a company would be required by law to adjust its balance sheet in the first four months of the year to avoid the creditors’ bankruptcy before bankruptcy.

But the bankruptcy halt, in effect since 2020 and ending on June 30, has given the company more time. In the same financial report, the company also admitted that it is in default on its debt, which comes to a total of 157 million at the end of the first quarter. The creditors, mostly Spanish banks along with the Muzinich Fund, granted a concession until April 30, but demanded that the company resolve the situation.