Van Hool will not file for bankruptcy today

Marc Zwaaneveld, the crisis manager at Van Hool, is continuing to work on a restart of the bus builder. He won’t file for bankruptcy today.

Source: BELGA

Today at 04:48

“My date remains March 31,” he says in De Standaard. Zwaaneveld is still talking to three parties, including the Dutch bus builder VDL.

Yet bankruptcy ultimately seems unavoidable, according to De Standaard, due to the company’s high debt burden (approximately 300 million euros). In addition, fresh capital is also needed, but no one wants to cough up that. Finally, it will only be clear on Monday afternoon whether the Van Hool family has found a solution to the stock dispute.

The board of directors must consider the family’s response, but Zwaaneveld is preparing for a “plan B”. In such a plan he tries to save as many jobs as possible by attempting to sell Van Hool without the old debts. This could be done through a liquidation, a flash bankruptcy or a transfer under judicial authority.

In the meantime, the crisis manager is talking to potential acquirers. According to De Standaard, in addition to the West Flemish entrepreneur Guido Dumarey, the Dutch bus builder VDL Bus & Coach is also in the picture, which already builds buses in Roeselare. The name of a third interested party is not known.