Sergei Bakeshin commented for Novy Prospect on the judicial activation of the Pella shipbuilding holding company’s counterparties amid the sale of some of the company’s assets

After the moratorium on bankruptcy was lifted, the Pella Shipbuilding Holding Company began to receive petitions for the declaration of insolvency of the group’s structures. The initiators of the bankruptcies are the company’s counterparties, including Design Bureau Petrobaltryad LLC. In the near future the creditors’ pool may increase as four more companies have announced their intention to file for bankruptcy against Pella. In addition to that, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation has filed a claim with the commercial court. At the same time, it is expected that by the end of the year the deal on the sale of the production site of Pella, which deals with civil orders, to the fishing holding Norebo will be closed.

According to Sergei Bakeshin, Head of Dispute Resolution and Insolvency Practice at Maxima Legal, the claim of the Ministry of Defence may be a more alarming sign than reports of creditors intending to file for bankruptcy, which is often an ordinary way to enforce a legal judgment and recover money. However, as the expert explained to the online newspaper Novy Prospect, if “a group’s business is organised so that one company is a profit centre and the other a loss (cost) centre, the former may be held subsidiary liable in the event of the latter’s bankruptcy. Therefore, it is worthwhile for the buyer to conduct a thorough due diligence before the transaction”.

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