Following the failure of the purchase of the Mexican steel giant Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA), paralyzed by insolvency since the beginning of 2023, the representatives of the New York investor Argentem Creek Partners resigned from their positions on the board of directors, so Alonso Ancira Elizondo remains as chairman of the company's board of directors, according to information released by the steelmaker.
"AHMSA informs that it has received the definitive and irrevocable resignation of Mr. Eugene Irwin Davis (chairman), Mr. Timothy Bernlohr (counselor) and Mr. Leopoldo Burillo (counselor) from their respective provisional positions within the board of directors," the company informed the stock markets.
They were provisional positions because at a shareholders' meeting in April 2023, it was determined that they would have the real position when the conditions of the American investment fund Argentem Creek Partners for the purchase of AHMSA were met. A contract that was not carried out because on November 6, a federal judge declared the steel company bankrupt, with which the trustee (auxiliary of the judicial power) will proceed with the sale of the company's assets.
SteelOrbis consulted a lawyer specialized in bankruptcy and commented that the board of directors is obliged to cooperate with the trustee for the sale of the company, "although it no longer has powers in the administration, the members of the board of directors have many obligations in the process," he said.
The specialist commented that the board of directors is also important because so far, there is no total transfer of AHMSA's assets to the trustee. Considering the size of the steel company (with integrated mining complexes), the total transfer of assets could take a month.
The lawyer, who has worked as a conciliator and as a trustee in other bankruptcy proceedings, said that the board of directors can continue looking for investors to purchase the assets. Although that process must be authorized by the judge in the case.
AHMSA, with a production capacity of 5.5 million metric tons of liquid steel, was paralyzed by insolvency since the beginning of last year. The company's debt became unpayable with $5.75 billion in liabilities and assets of $2.0 billion.
With the bankruptcy status already declared by the judge, the trustee will proceed with the sale of AHMSA's assets, free of any liabilities (financial or labor).
The lawyer commented that if the legal defenders of Ancira or AHMSA try to overturn the bankruptcy declaration, there is already jurisprudence that prevents it.