After half a year of waiting, representatives of the potential buyers of the Mexican steel giant, Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA), met with Mexican government officials to negotiate the deferral of some $500 million of the company's debts to the company's treasury nation, according to local press reports.
“The legal team of Argentem (Creek Partners) is currently (Thursday, September 7) negotiating with the federal government and by Friday of the following week we could have news,” said AHMSA director Luis Zamudio, published today by the local newspaper El Tiempo de Monclova.
Since last March, Argentem Creek Partners has been trying to get the government to defer the payment of taxes and other contributions that AHMSA owes to federal government agencies such as taxes, energy consumption such as electricity and gas. In addition to worker-employer contributions to social and mortgage security (IMSS and Infonavit). In addition to a reparatory payment to the state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex).
SteelOrbis published on August 21 that the pending payment of taxes alone is for the equivalent of $408 million (MXN 7,139 million) and the third and final reparation payment to Pemex for $112.5 million, totaling $520 million (MXN 9,107 million) .
In May, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he was willing to accept the debt restructuring, but AHMSA's main shareholder, Alonso Ancira, had to exit or sell his shareholding. Words that contrast with reality, since Ancira agreed to sell the company with Argentem Creek Partners last February.
Argentem Creek brings as capital partners Cargill Capital, the Texas Kickapoo tribe and a Chinese investor, who will be the operator of the Mexican steel company. If the restructuring to defer the debt is approved, the new owners will invest $1.0 billion in three years.
Zamudio confirmed what was published by SteelOrbis last May, if the restructuring is approved, AHMSA will restart operations with its electric arc furnace (EAF) with an annual production capacity of 1.2 million metric tons. In a year and a half, he predicted the company will reach a 100 percent production level.
“For next week we expect good news,” Zamudio concluded, according to “Periodico La Voz.”