Swiss company "Mineco" will be exploiting the mines of "Moldomin"

• The ANAF has requested the replacement of the court appointed liquidator; a decision on the matter is expected to take place today

"Mineco" of Switzerland will exploit the mines of "Moldomin" SA, after winning the auction, "RTZ & Partners" - the liquidator of the debtor: "Yesterday, < Mineco > was designated the winner of the direct negotiation procedure for the sale of the immovable assets which were absolutely necessary for the exploitation of the mines, and the mining license owned by < Moldomin > was transferred to the winner".

The "Mineco" AG group, which operates in various countries and lines of business, owns three mines, (two in Serbia and one in Bosnia) and other assets in countries such as Montenegro or Chile, has pledged to invest at least 150 million Euros, in the mines of Moldova Nouă. The tender book required investments of at least 50 million Euros, said Răzvan Zăvăleanu, Managing Partner at "RTZ & Partners" SPRL. According to him, "Mineco" will keep the 45-50 employees of "Moldomin", and will create about 400-500 new jobs, and will bring in specialists from other countries to train the employees.

The procedure for the sale of the mines was initiated several months ago, and was temporarily suspended by the National Tax Administration Agency (ANAF), as the latter was a creditor of the company. Mr. Zăvăleanu had the following to say on this matter: "Last week, the action for suspending the sale of the assets of < Moldomin >, was rejected by the bankruptcy judge. The National Tax Administration Agency (ANAF) has also passed a request to change the court appointed liquidator, which will be tried tomorrow (ed. note: today).

The representatives of the ANAF consider that the sales procedure was not fairly executed. Now, after the decision of the bankruptcy judge, I don"t know if they will stand by their request. We will see what happens".

Răzvan Zăvăleanu said that the price paid by the buyer is higher than the minimum bid required by the creditors, and he added: "The real price is calculated by adding the amounts paid by the creditors and the amounts which represent the environmental liabilities - approximately 68 million Euros - and the amount of the investments taken on".

According to him, after the amendment of the tender book, two new major obligations to the buyer were included in it. First, the environmental liabilities will be the responsibility of the buyer, if the mines are shut down, thus saving the Romanian state approximately 68 million Euros. Secondly, the buyer will need to meet the technological and financial requirements of the National Agency for Mineral Resources (ANRM). In the next 60 days, "Mineco" is expected to receive the approval of the ANRM.

Răzvan Zăvăleanu says he is happy with the fact that the direct negotiation procedure was successful, claiming that attracting the investor will help save the Moldova Nouă area and its inhabitants.