Casablanca’s Commercial Court announced a new time extension for receiving offers to acquire assets of the “Samir” national refinery, which is in the process of judicial liquidation.
In the announcement issued on Tuesday, the court said that offers for purchase must be supported by guarantees that prove their seriousness, including and fulfilling the conditions stipulated in Article 636 of the Trade Code.
The court indicated that the purchase offers must include expectations for activity, financing, the price of the transfer and how to pay it, the date of completion of the transfer, the level of operation and its prospects according to the relevant activity, the guarantees provided in order to ensure the implementation of the offer, and the expectations of selling assets during the two years following the transfer.
According to the announcement, offers must be submitted within 30 days from the date of publication of the announcement to the judicial liquidation bond, Abdelkabir Safadi, at the Contracting Difficulty Department of the Commercial Court in Casablanca.
Those interested can also make a field visit to the refinery and see in detail the book of tolerances, according to the order of the delegated judge at the company’s social headquarters in Mohammedia.
The announcement indicated that the court will receive offers to purchase production units consisting of the company’s assets and all its affiliated assets, without its liabilities, meaning that the acquirer will not be bound by the company’s accumulated debts, amounting to more than MAD 40 billion.
Samir entered the judicial liquidation process in 2016, following the issuance of a decision by the Commercial Court of Casablanca, a year after it stopped working after the accumulation of debts during the management of former officials, headed by Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi, a Saudi businessman of Ethiopian origin.
During the past week, the Commercial Court in Casablanca issued a ruling authorizing the continuation of the activity of the Samir, which allows the company to deliver services for valid and current contracts, including employment contracts.
The permission is issued every three months based on Article 652 of the Trade Code, which states that if the public interest or the interest of the creditors requires the continuation of the activity of the contracting subject to judicial liquidation, the court may authorize that, for a period it specifies, either automatically or at request.
The National Front for the Rescue of the Moroccan Petroleum Refinery proposes several solutions to get Samir out of its current situation, including “free management,” “debt conversion into capital” or “recovery and nationalization.”
The front, which includes company employees, trade unionists, parliamentarians and lawyers often expresses its dissatisfaction with the statements of government officials who link the company’s situation to the dispute between the former investor and the Moroccan state before the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes of the World Bank.
However, they maintain that the company’s owner will not be bound by its debts.
The front also explains that the creditors of Samir are responsible and liable for the loans’ default, as they continued lending despite not being sure of its ability to pay back on time.
In the meantime, the Samir’s fate remains unknown, as Moroccans and parliamentarians continue their demands for a lasting solution, that could alleviate fuel dependency on the Kingdom, amid a global energy crisis.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.