Experts find Tere dairy rehabilitation plan unlikely to succeed
Court-appointed experts have found that the financial rehabilitation plan of troubled Estonian dairy firm Tere AS is unlikely to succeed as it focuses on restructuring debt rather than solving long-term financial problems, reported Estonian daily Postimees.
"A rehabilitation proceeding based on a single measure cannot be considered to be in harmony with the essence of rehabilitation," stated the expert assessment drawn up by Tallinn bailiff and trustee in bankruptcy Toomas Saarma and partner at consultancy firm BDO Eesti Urmas Võimre.
The unusually long period of rehabilitation — 10 years — points at Tere's excessive debt burden and inability to meet its liabilities within a reasonable time, found the experts, concluding that the measure is aimed at avoiding insolvency.
The owner of the dairy firm, Oliver Kruuda, disagreed with the assessment and intends to contest it.
Tere AS owes more than 30 million euros to banks, nearly 20 million euros to suppliers and 800,000 euros to the state in unpaid taxes.
The first-tier Harju County Court initiated Tere's rehabilitation in February in response to an application filed by the company. The dairy was to submit its financial rehabilitation plan to the court by April 11 at the latest, which it did, but creditors did not support it and the court ruled on May 12 to appoint Saarma and Võimre as experts to assess the plan.
Editor: Editor: Aili Sarapik
Source: BNS