– We have recently received the ruling and are working to familiarize ourselves with the business. We are working to get an overview of the situation and clarify what opportunities we have further, says housing manager Ellen Schult Ulriksen in Agrino’s bankruptcy estate.
On Friday, it became clear that the Norwegian company – which offers additives that make mineral fertilizers more effective – has been declared bankrupt.
Finansavisen mentioned bankruptcy first.
Most debt to shareholders
Ulriksen says that the total debt is stated to be NOK 198 million.
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– But as far as we understand, this is primarily a shareholder loan. In other words, there should be no question of particularly external debt.
Agrinos has no operational operations in the Norwegian company, and operations take place in the foreign subsidiaries. The estate is therefore working to get an overview of the situation in the subsidiaries.
– An important task is to clarify how we will realize the company’s values in the best possible way.
Since 2009, Agrinos has run a deficit of just under 1.7 billion, the company’s accounts show. However, the accounts for 2019 have not been published.
The Bergesen family with a bang
The company’s largest Norwegian owner is the Bergesen family’s Havfonn as, which owns 18.2 per cent of the shares. In 2018, Havfonn’s investment in Agrinos was written down by NOK 133 million, and according to Finansavisen, Havfonn, together with Agrinos’ largest owner Manor Investment, injected 26 million in fresh capital, and converted 182 million in debt to the company last year.
– This has been a long and heavy commitment financially, but that is how it is sometimes when you make investments, Bergesen told the newspaper.
Havfonn’s representative on the board of Agrinos, Nicolai Nordstrand, says that it is a pity that they have not managed to make the company profitable, but take the bankruptcy with a grain of salt.
– It does not come completely unexpected. The company’s revenues have not covered the costs and capital requirements over time, and at some point one must put a stop if the company can not finance itself. It’s sorry, but that’s how it is.
– Havfonn has over the years contributed a good deal of money to the company. Is it bitter that these are now gone?
– One must dare to invest if we are to develop the world in a better direction. Agriculture and food production must become more sustainable and the agricultural industry agrees that biological products that Agrinos delivers are an important part of the solution. But it costs money to develop new technology and commercialize it. The company was clearly on the right track, but with still immature markets for the products and effects of Covid-19, it became too uncertain and capital-intensive to take this further for existing owners, he says.
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