Nord Stream pipeline
Court threatens Nord Stream 2 with bankruptcy in May
The pipeline operator Nord Stream 2 is sitting on high debts. The creditors want to be paid. A Swiss court has now announced a final grace period before bankruptcy.
The heavily indebted operating company of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has surprisingly received a further reprieve from reaching an agreement with creditors in order to avert bankruptcy. The court in the Swiss canton of Zug had originally announced a decision by January 10th. The new deadline now applies until May 9th, the court announced.
By then, all small creditors must be satisfied “in full” and proof of payments must be presented. “If this deadline is not met, Nord Stream 2 AG will be declared bankrupt without setting a grace period,” the cantonal court announced. In Germany this corresponds to insolvency proceedings.
Nord Stream 2 AG belongs to the Russian Gazprom group. It was supposed to deliver Russian gas to Germany through the Baltic Sea. The two-line pipeline, which cost almost ten billion euros and is 1,200 kilometers long, was completed but never put into operation. The controversial gas deal was put on hold after Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022.
One of the two pipe lines was destroyed in an attack at the beginning of September 2022, as were the two lines of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which has already been put into operation.
The company Transliq, as the administrator, presented creditors with a debt restructuring agreement in November. However, the necessary agreement with the creditors has not yet been reached. In the event of a succession agreement and bankruptcy, creditors must waive parts of their claims. However, compared to bankruptcy, a composition agreement is legally more advantageous for companies and creditors.
dpa
Source: Stern
