The Extremaduran company Grupo Industrial CL and the Basque Sidenor appear in the pools as possible candidates to take a minority stake as an industrial partner in the new Celsa, which will control the majority of the creditor funds after the ruling that forces the exit of the family’s capital Rubiralta. Although the process is in an initial phase, the first movements have already begun, explain sources in the sector.
Grupo CL declined to comment yesterday, while Sidenor sources assured that “we are following the Celsa issue,” although they added that “we have not had any contact.” The sources consulted maintain that the Government would like the Spanish industrial partner to have 25% of the shares of the steel plant based in Castellbisbal, although other sources maintain that this percentage would be 20%.
One of the issues that is under discussion is how much that percentage is valued. Based on the valuation assumed by the judge in the ruling in which he awarded the shares to Celsa’s creditors, 20% would be equivalent to around 500 million.
The entry of an industrial partner – be it CL, Sidenor or some other group – will not be immediate, since the Council of Ministers must first give its approval to the funds taking control. For this authorization to occur, the Government demands three major commitments: maintenance of employment, the integrity of the company and its decision-making headquarters, and the entry of a Spanish industrial partner. Therefore, some type of commitment from the new Spanish shareholder may be necessary to obtain the green light to take the shares.
CL industrial group, owned by the Leal family, was born in 1981 with the creation of the Cristian Lay company. Since then it has become an international holding company with 26 companies distributed in sectors such as steel, chemicals, the packaging business, energy, chemicals and consumer goods. CL Grupo Industrial exports to more than 30 countries and employs 3,000 people. The aggregate turnover is 2.3 billion euros in 2022, 35% more than the previous year. Of that amount, around half corresponds to the steel sector.
The Basque Sidenor, owned by José Antonio Jainaga, is a leader in the production of special long steels, according to the company. With production centers in the Basque Country, Cantabria and Catalonia, the company has commercial delegations in Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Last year it had a turnover of 1,067 million euros, with net profits of 62 million.
The entry of an industrial partner into Celsa is studied in parallel to the configuration of the board of directors. For now, only the appointment of the former CEO of Naturgy, Rafael Villaseca, as president has emerged.
The ruling on Celsa has been a pioneer with the new bankruptcy law, since it has delivered 100% of the Rubiralta family’s shares to creditors without the possibility of filing any appeal. With an annual turnover of 6,000 million and a debt of more than 3,000 million, the group was immersed in the last year in a complex process of restructuring its liabilities. The creditors are a large group, including SVP Global, Deutsche Bank, Sculptor and Anchorage. The change in ownership will be carried out by capitalizing 1,352 million euros of convertible debt and a portion of the jumbo debt.
