AgfaPhoto insolvency filing reported in Germany; North American operations continue
AgfaPhoto GmbH, the photo/imaging spin-off from Agfa-Gevaert, has filed for insolvency. According to a report by Finance24.com, the move took employees by surprise.
"The West German Broadcasting (WDR) channel said the company management informed employees of the move earlier in the week," the report said. "The head of the workers council, Bernhard Dykstra, told WDR that the council was totally surprised by the decision. Some 1,800 Agfa employees in Germany would be affected by the insolvency, including 870 at Agfa headquarters in Leverkusen."
According to an AgfaPhoto spokesperson for North America, operations will be "business as usual."
"Our parent company filed for a petition for insolvency, but it has not been accepted yet," said the spokesperson. "Our intent is to emerge from a restructuring as a stronger organization. We will have more information by the middle of the next week.
In November, 2004, Agfa-Gevaert sold its consumer imaging business to a group of investors in a management buy out/in. Since then the consumer imaging business have operated through a group of companies under the name of AgfaPhoto, owned by management, NannO Beteiligungsholding and a small number of financial investors.
Agfa-Gevaert provides AgfaPhoto group companies with distribution, order fulfillment, after sales and other services until the end of 2005. In addition, at the time of the management buy out/in on Nov. 2, 2004, Agfa-Gevaert granted a secured vendor loan for the full purchase price. Based on Agfa Gevaert's audited financial statement, the purchase price was set at 112 million euro, which is still subject to an audit of the closing financials by the purchaser. The vendor loan is fully secured by a lease portfolio held by AgfaPhoto Holding GmbH, the parent company of the AgfaPhoto group. AgfaPhoto Holding GmbH is not implicated in the insolvency filing of AgfaPhoto GmbH, according to Agfa-Gevaert.