Sancor seeks to avoid bankruptcy: the Creditors Preventive Contest was formalized

At the edge last week, The emblematic limited cooperative sancor He took a key step in his long way of financial crisis: Judge Guillermo Adrián Valesof the Civil and Commercial Court of the 4th. Rafaela nomination, Santa Fe, He decided to open the preventive contest of creditors. The measure seeks to restructure the millionaire debts of the company and avoid its definitive bankruptcy, in an attempt to save one of the most historical cooperatives in the Argentine dairy sector.

In its resolution, the judge established clear conditions for the process. He classified the contest as “Great Contest – Category A”, which reflects the magnitude of the case, and designated a plural union to supervise development. In addition, it set key dates: on May 29, 2025 as a limit to present credits verification orders and on July 1 of the same year for challenges. The suspension of trials prior to February 3, 2025 and interruptions of essential services derived from old debts was also ordered.

Another prominent aspect was the formation of a provisional committee of creditors and the guarantee that Sancor will continue to be registered in the Registry of Importers and Exporters, an essential detail to keep its marketing network operational.

In a section entitled “Words aimed at the population”, Judge Guillermo Vales emphasized the importance of the process and its social impact: “It was objectively proven that the cooperative cannot deal with the obligations that can be demanded by its creditors. During this process, we will try to find solutions together with the creditors to avoid bankruptcy And this is so, because the main objective of the trial is to protect the interest of creditors and maintain the operation of the company, which will help conserve work sources. ”

The judge also stressed Sancor’s relevance in the community: “I am in mind the importance of the activity that the cooperative develops for society, developing food products from the raw material to the product that reaches the final consumer, which makes me see That this process through which Sancor is going through could have a high impact on the life of the community as a whole. ”

Finally, he raised the main objective of the bankruptcy process: “The objective to be fulfilled will be to try to achieve an agreement that satisfies the debts and thus allow the company to recompose from this crisis, continuing with its recognized and beloved activity both in this region , throughout the country and also, of course, abroad. ”

Sancor, history of a long crisis

Sancor’s situation is not new. Since 2017, the cooperative faces serious financial difficulties that led it to a restructuring process, with the sale and closure of productive plantsthe reduction of personnel and a fall in production that seriously affected its operation.

In 2021, the cooperative tried to create the “Sancor Capital” trust, with a project that foresaw a millionaire investment to increase milk processing capacity. However, the problems to obtain financing and withdrawal of investors in 2023 left the cooperative in a state of extreme vulnerability.

For its part, between 2023 and 2024, Salary and labor conflicts led to plants paralyzes and the interruption of the production of key products. In this way, the historic cooperative lost presence in local gondolas and that perhaps was the turning point of its long crisis.

More here in time, At the beginning of this year the company dismissed more than 300 workers in a desperate attempt to reduce costs, but nothing was enough to float.

With an estimated debt at US $ 400 million and a productive capacity minimized – of 4 million liters a day in their boom to less than 200,000 liters -, Sancor currently faces a monumental challenge. The creditors’ contest is now its greatest hope to renegotiate your debts, maintain the operation and recover the confidence of producers and consumers.

The reality is that although the bankruptcy process seeks to avoid bankruptcy, Sancor’s future is uncertain. The continuity of the cooperative It will depend on the development of this contest that since its inception is shown as extremely complex.