In a judicial process to restructure the liabilities of the steel company Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA), 1,669 creditors claimed debt from a judge for the equivalent of MXN 40.91 billion , a figure that represents 72.4 percent of the total debt of MXN 56.49 billion reported by the steel company at the end of 2022.
"They demand payment of MXN 40.9 billion from AHMSA," Reforma newspaper published today in its Financial section.
With this information and according to AHMSA's financial statements at the end of 2022, seen by SteelOrbis, the claim of creditors in the financial restructuring process under the Commercial Bankruptcy Law is equivalent to just under three quarters.
The equivalent of $848 million is left out of the claim, a figure considering today's exchange rate parity. The debt was converted to an instrument called Investment Units (UDIs) that are indexed to inflation and have a daily price determined by the central bank (Banxico).
From October 11 to 25, the UDI has a daily increase of 0.01 percent, which in the case of the debt claimed by creditors, which is equivalent to $2.23 billion, the daily increase is equivalent to $197,315.
The balance of AHMSA's total debt at the end of last year was equivalent to $3.07 billion, considering an exchange rate of MXN 18.37 pesos per dollar.
According to the newspaper Reforma, AHMSA's largest creditors are Cargill Financial Services, Afirme Grupo Financiero and Caterpillar Crédito with $790 million. They are creditors who have real guarantee. The next group is 1,547 common creditors with a claimed debt of $707 million.
Creditors with “special privileges” is another company of the Afirme financial group, the Mexican unit of the American insurer Chubb Limited and the state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) with a debt of $330 million.
Other creditors with mortgage guarantees are Pemex, the Mexican pipe producer Tubacero and the Mexican financial company Unifin with a claim of $151 million. From taxes to the Ministry of Finance (SHCP) and the mortgage system (Infonavit), AHMSA owes $123 million. In addition, $115 million is owed to the social security system (IMSS), among other creditors.
The bankruptcy is the second restructuring process of AHMSA under current law, the first was in 1999 with a law that was repealed in 2000. The company is in the process of sale to a group of investors represented by the American financial company Argentem Creek Partners.
Among the partners are Cargill, the Kickapoo Tribe of Texas and a Chinese investor who will be the operator of the steel plant with a production capacity of 5.5 million metric tons per year.
Since last March, Argentem Creek has been trying to get the Mexican government to accept an additional restructuring of all debts related to public administration. According to a calculation made by SteelOrbis it is $501 million. However, seven months have passed and there is still no response from the Mexican government, while the almost 14,000 direct workers of AHMSA have accumulated almost half a year without receiving salaries and wages.