In the new judicial process to reorganize the debt of the steel company Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA), a federal judge ordered the specialist in charge of reviewing the financial situation of the company to start the creditor recognition process, the court reported in a statement in the official government gazette (DOF).
“It was ordered that the recognition of credits begin, which is made known to the creditors of the bankrupt (AHMSA) so that those who wish may submit a request for recognition of their credits. The publication of this edict has the effects of notification for those who have not yet been notified in some different way, ordered in the sentence itself,” the Second Court specialized in commercial bankruptcies published on Friday.
The process for receiving applications for credit recognition will be in effect until next week, August 21.
The court declared AHMSA in bankruptcy in the conciliation stage on June 22, 2023. This despite the steel company being declared in suspension of payments since May 1999 and on January 30, 2023 it was declared bankrupt, with a law repealed by the current Bankruptcy Law (in force since May 12, 2000) and with which it was declared in the new judicial process.
With the new law, the Federal Institute of Commercial Bankruptcy Specialists (IFECOM) is in charge of appointing specialists in the process.
AHMSA, with an annual production capacity of 5.5 million tons of steel, is not producing due to lack of resources. Although there is an investor interested in buying the company with the approval of the restructuring of the part of the debt related to the payment of the federal government, the government has not responded for five months.
In this lack of definition, it is faced with sabotage by people outside the company who have already damaged the company's main iron mine and an essential asset (coking plant). In both cases, time and resources will be required to repair them, delaying the restart process.
The new judicial process for the restructuring was initiated by the company Transportes Especializados Bortoni (TEBSA), a company located in the vicinity of the steel company in the northern city of Monclova, Coahuila.