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. “My date remains March 31,” he says in De Standaard. Zwaaneveld is 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 make a decision on this, but Zwaaneveld is preparing for a ‘plan B’. In such a plan he tries to save as many jobs as possible by selling Van Hool without the old debts. This could be done through a liquidation, a flash bankruptcy or a transfer under judicial authority. In the event of a quick restart through a flash bankruptcy, part of the staff can continue to work under the new owner, because business activities do not come to a standstill.
In the meantime, the crisis manager is talking to potential acquirers. The Dutch bus builder VDL Bus & Coach is also in the picture, which already builds buses in Roeselare. Not much is known yet about a third interested party.
Tags: Crisis manager Zwaaneveld Van Hool file bankruptcy today
