A federal judge in Mexico issued a ruling recognizing the debt owed to creditors of financially troubled steel company Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) at MXN 40.4 billion ($2.29 billion). The ruling can be appealed by the company, according to press reports and part of the court statement.
“On November 15, 2023, a ruling on recognition, graduation and priority of credits was issued,” says an excerpt from the ruling published by the Second District Court for Commercial Bankruptcy.
In the ruling, the amount of debt recognized by the judge to the creditors was not mentioned, however the morning newspaper La Voz reported that the debt is MXN 40.4 billion, citing as a source of information the lawyer of the Employers' Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex) Héctor Manuel Garza Martínez.
The debt recognized by the judge is 28.5 percent lower than the equivalent $3.2 billion reported as AHMSA's total liabilities at the end of 2022. This is the most recent data reported to the stock market authorities by the company, which was reviewed by SteelOrbis.
As of December of last year, AHMSA reported total assets of $2.30 billion. This means that it has negative equity or technical bankruptcy as its liabilities exceed its assets by $896 million.
AHMSA is in a sale process to the New York financial company Argentem Creek Partners, which last February signed an agreement to buy the Mexican steel company and if its plan is approved, it would invest $1.0 billion in the next three years.
Currently, AHMSA, with a production capacity of 5.5 million metric tons per year, is paralyzed due to insolvency.