Rush of creditors

KTM

The majority of KTM employees work in Mattighofen.

(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

How high are the debts of motorcycle manufacturer KTM? When insolvency proceedings were opened for three of the Mattighofen-based company's companies, there was talk of almost two billion euros in liabilities. On January 24th, real figures will now be presented for the first time at the audit hearings. The creditors still have time to register their claims - stressful times for the creditor protection associations too.

On November 29, restructuring proceedings with self-administration were opened for KTM AG, KTM Components GmbH and KTM Forschungs & Entwicklungs GmbH, which at a stroke left more than 3,600 employees fearing for their jobs, but also countless suppliers and subcontractors for their money and an entire region for its leading company...

Since then, Vöcklabrucker Metallgießerei GmbH, Avocodo GmbH and Pierer E-Commerce GmbH, three other companies from the group of companies, have been forced into insolvency - all of them unavoidable bankruptcies. In the meantime, talks with potential investors are running at full speed to get the restructuring of the motorcycle manufacturer on track.

On January 24, the hearings in the KTM insolvency will take place in the jury courtroom at the regional court in Ried im Innkreis.

(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

There is still time to file claims until January 16
January 24 will be an important day with a view to the future: at the hearings at the regional court in Ried im Innkreis, the restructuring administrators will present details of the financial situation and the future. It will also be clear how high the company's mountain of debt actually is. When the insolvency proceedings were opened, the three companies had a combined total of around two billion euros in liabilities. However, the creditors now have until 16 January to register their claims.

Coping with the huge rush with their teams: Daniel Nobis (AKV Europa), Petra Wögerbauer (KSV1870) and Iris Scharitzer (Creditreform).

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Sabine Starmayr, Daniel Nobis, Creditreform)

Christmas vacations reduced in order to process requests on time
KTM AG, KTM Components GmbH and KTM Forschungs & Entwicklungs GmbH together have almost 2500 creditors. This also means pure stress for the creditor protection associations, which represent many creditors in court. "Our eight-strong insolvency team in Linz has reduced its Christmas vacation in order to be able to process the creditors' inquiries and representation orders on time," says Petra Wögerbauer from Kreditschutzverband von 1870. In December and between the holidays at the turn of the year, there were many inquiries from creditors from non-EU countries, reports Wögerbauer.

The process is structured and quite demanding, whereby we provide additional support, especially for foreign creditors, to clarify open questions and enable registrations.

Gerhard M. Weinhofer, Geschäftsführer des Österreichischen Verbands Creditreform

"The creditors have diverse and sometimes complicated legal relationships with the debtors, which require careful legal examination," confirms Daniel Nobis from the Alpenländische Kreditorenverband. Legal resources from the other offices in Austria have been brought together. Nobis expects the number of claims filed to increase "significantly" by the time of the restructuring plan meeting on February 25.

Many last-minute or even retrospective submissions
Iris Scharitzer from the Austrian Creditreform Association takes a similar view: "We are prepared for many creditors to submit their claims in the last few days or even retrospectively."