Hamburg-based Conergy AG filed application to open insolvency proceedings last Friday at the District Court of Hamburg. Hitherto Conergy has been in negotiations on the short-dated entrance of a strategic investor. The company’s creditors however failed to agree on the necessary unitarily and reliable affirmation of the concept in a timely manner. Now, unexpected delay in a payment resulting from a large-scale project led to illiquidity of Conergy’s two manufacturing subsidiaries Mounting Systems and Conergy SolarModule. The Conergy Board therefore came to the conclusion that the so far positive going concern is void.
Despite long- lasting and intensive negotiations the lenders could not agree on the sustainable investor concept presented by the Conergy Board ensuring the future for the PV solution and service provider even though nine out of ten creditors signalised their general affirmation. The cognizant district court will now appoint a preliminary insolvency administrator who will decide promptly whether and how the company can continue its manufacturing and business operations. The Management Board assumes that German employees of the group will receive state-funded “insolvency wages” for the next three months.
CEO Comberg: “We fully support preliminary insolvency administrator in negotiations.”
„In the last fifteen months, we have presented two concrete concepts on the investment by investors to our lenders. We very much regret that they repeatedly could not reach a reliable agreement on a timely implementation of the proposal,” said Conergy CEO Dr. Philip Comberg. “Without a solid capital structure, however, Conergy Group cannot continue its course for growth as planned. The Management Board will now fully support the preliminary insolvency administrator in order to hopefully secure all jobs and to continue business operations without any disruptions – in our production facilities, the proceeding of our orders and the installation of our large-scale projects. We will further collaborate closely with the preliminary insolvency administrator in further negotiations with potential investors, as well as with Conergy’s creditors.”
Concept of Management Board was to sustainably secure Conergy’s growth
Following several years of restructuring, Conergy significantly reduced its losses in 2011 despite a price decline of again 40%. In the first quarter of 2013 the PV solution and service provider achieved a strong increase in both volume and sales. In order to uphold this positive tendency, Conergy planned to increase its activities in the capital-intensive large-scale project business in its global growth markets and to collaborate with suppliers as well as with strategic finance investors for this purpose. In order to finance this growth, the company needs a solid capital structure, in particular sufficient cash. The concept presented by Conergy’s Management Board was to set the stage for Conergy’s successful existence and future.