Seafood processing plant belonging to Fripur. (Photo: Fripur)
URUGUAY
Saturday, December 12, 2015, 02:40 (GMT + 9)
The tender for the sale of Frigorifico Pesquero del Uruguay (FRIPUR) bloc, scheduled for 10 December with a base price of USD 15 million has been postponed for "flaws" in the bidding presentations.
Two interested parties submitted proposals to buy the company: a group formed by the workers themselves and a major Canadian company with operations in several countries.
Founded in 1976, Fripur became the largest fishing company in Uruguay, but in July last year it filed a voluntary creditors’ meeting, beset by debt and serious financial problems.
The company had a 960 employee workforce and carried a debt amounting to about USD 70 million when it closed.
According to the attorney of Rueda, Abadi, Pereira firm (liquidator of the company), Francisco Cobas, the judge overseeing the case decided to postpone the process due to the existence of "formal flaws" in the two presentations.
One of the proposals was presented by the Canadian company Cooke Aquaculture, a major company that in recent years has expanded its facilities, product lines and distribution networks to become a fully integrated enterprise. Cooke has operations in Canada, Chile, Spain and Scotland, as well as sales staff in the main centres in the United States and Canada.
The other bid was submitted by a group of about 200 workers of Fripur who organised a cooperative to take over the company, with a private joint management, reported El Observador.
In the case of the proposal of the cooperative, the judge objected to the lack of payment of the guarantee, whereas in the case of the Canadian group, she objected to the presentation of some of the documents in English.
Cobas said that while the trustee of the company did not have access to the documents submitted by both parties, he estimated they will be summoned again in a "short time".
If it proves it is difficult to sell the company as a bloc, it will be sold in parts.
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