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French fashion chain Sonia Rykiel enters liquidation

Having filed for bankruptcy protection in March, the French designer fashion label Sonia Rykiel has officially entered liquidation. According to The Independent, the firm failed to find a suitable buyer.

Earlier this month, a commercial court in Paris declined the proposal offered by Lévy, which was the final offer on the table. It has not been stated why Lévy’s bid was rejected. The court’s decision has forced Sonia Rykiel to commence insolvency proceedings.

Six stores are due to be shut down across France and Monaco, and Sonia Rykiel’s intellectual properties will be sold to pay off debts. Shops in New York and London already ceased trading in March after the bankruptcy protection petition. All 131 employees of the company are expected to be made redundant, though a definitive timeline has not been established for when this will happen.

Insolvent Plynk struggles to pay off creditors

The Times reports that the Irish start-up Plynk is struggling to pay off its creditors, leaving many out of pocket, following its liquidation in 2018. A statement filed by Plynck’s liquidator has revealed that creditors are collectively owed over €2 million, but the mobile payments firm has no means to pay back the money.

Plynk owes around €70,000 to a secured creditor and a further €1.8 million to a series of unsecured creditors, yet according to its liquidator the firm has only €6,000 to its name. In addition to these debts, Plynk was also required to pay redundancy to its 19 former employees, at a cost of around €100,000.

Efforts to recoup sufficient money to repay these debts have so far been unsuccessful. €7,500 has been recovered via the sale of assets back to one of Plynk’s co-founders, Charles Dowd.

German wind turbine firm Senvion in rescue deal discussion

Following a filing for self-administration in April this year, the German wind turbine manufacturer Senvion is in talks with potential buyers to agree a rescue deal. According to Reuters, a number of companies have expressed interest in Senvion, including Siemens Gamesa, Toshiba and Acciona.

Inside sources state that current talks with interested parties are focused primarily on asset deals, where the buyer would purchase only selected assets of Senvion, rather than taking ownership of the whole company. However, there is also talk of debt-restructuring deals being on the table.

Senvion is currently negotiating with its creditors to extend a €100 million loan, which would enable it to continue discussions with prospective buyers with less pressure to sell. The company has debts of over €1 billion, due largely to delays and cancellations of large projects. In addition to finding a buyer, it has also begun terminating unprofitable service agreements.

Rescue deal agreed for Italian bank Carige

The struggling Italian bank Carige has secured a rescue deal that will help prevent it from falling into insolvency. Reports from WHTC state that other Italian banks have negotiated an agreement to support Carige as part of a €900 million investment.

The deal was struck only one day before a deadline set by the European Central Bank that would have initiated a winding down procedure. Talks are still ongoing for the larger recovery plan, but so far it has been agreed that Italian banks will invest between €500 million and €600 million through the Fondo Interbancario di Tutela dei Depositi (FITD), with cooperative lender Cassa Centrale Banca (CCB) set to invest an additional €70 million.

At a later date, CCB will have to buy back the FITD’s shares in Carige, thereby gaining a majority stake in the bank. The head of the FITD has stated: “We’re confident this will be the final solution for Carige’s problems.”

Arjobex UK bought by French equity firm

PrintWeek reports that French private equity firm Prudentia Capital has purchased Arjobex, a specialist manufacturer of synthetic paper products. Arjobex was forced to file for administration in the UK earlier this year following the collapse of its parent company, Sequana.

Arjobex also has operations in France and the US, which are independent of the UK site but are included in the deal and will all continue to trade. The deal with Prudentia will save around 48 jobs in the UK site, which is based in Clacton-on-Sea, and 160 more across the group.

A statement from the administrators for Arjobex said: “After continuing to trade the business since January, we are delighted to have secured a deal which not only gives the Arjobex business a sustainable future, but also preserves jobs in the local community.” Prudentia Capital stated: “We are pleased to… enable the current management team to expand its business.”