Press release:
Press release Directors, supervisory board members and accountant settle with Imtech trustees
The trustees of Royal Imtech N.V. and investors' association VEB have reached settlements with the directors and supervisory board members of Royal Imtech, their insurers and with KPMG, Imtech's accountant. Insurers and KPMG together pay 40 million euros to the trustees. These settlements prevent further legal proceedings against the former directors, supervisory board members and the accounting firm. The demise of Royal Imtech in 2015 is considered one of the largest post-war bankruptcies. Shortly after the bankruptcy, the trustees and the VEB decided to act together on any claims against those involved in the bankruptcy of Imtech.
The settlements now reached are the result of years of research by the trustees into the course of events prior to the bankruptcy. Subsequently, the trustees held directors and supervisory board members liable for improper management and inadequate supervision in the five years prior to the bankruptcy. In addition, the trustees conducted disciplinary proceedings against various accountants at KPMG regarding the formally issued statements in annual reports.
The directors, supervisory directors and KPMG have not acknowledged any liability or guilt in the settlements. No formal court proceedings had yet been issued against the former directors, board members and KPMG. The liability insurers of the directors and supervisory board members initially rejected coverage but are now cooperating with this settlement arrangement.
The new settlements follow an earlier settlement in October 2023 between the trustees and approximately 65 former banks and financiers of Royal Imtech. The largest part of the settlement amount agreed today, € 31,875,000, will be available to Royal Imtech's creditors. Together, the three settlements have now generated approximately € 60 million for unpaid creditors.
As a result of these settlements, the VEB will receive €7,125,000. More information on the processing of this payment will be published via the VEB. In 2014, before the bankruptcy, VEB had already reached a first settlement on behalf of affected investors. Finally, € 1 million of the total settlement amount of € 40 million will be made available by the insurers for some of the lawyers of the directors and supervisory board who had remained unpaid.
Payment to 'ordinary' creditors
This settlement represents an important step forward in the bankruptcy settlement. The trustees expect that all preferential creditors can be paid in full this autumn. Unsecured creditors can also receive a substantial payment. Part of the previous settlement is that banks and other financiers do not share in the proceeds of these settlements and are subordinated to unsecured creditors. This means that the full proceeds of the new settlements can be used for unsecured creditors. Without subordination from the banks stipulated by the trustees, at most 10 percent of the settlement amounts would have been available to these creditors. The payment to unsecured creditors is therefore ten times higher due to this subordination. The trustees expect that these payouts can take place in early 2025.
Settlement negotiations
The trustees are happy with this settlement. Trustee Jeroen Princen: “We have worked hard for more than 8 years. We started with a completely empty estate and can now distribute approximately 60 million euros among the unpaid creditors.”
Curator Fouad el Houzi is pleased that an overall settlement could be reached with the many parties involved. “This settlement cuts a Gordian knot of disputes between the 36 parties involved in one go. And it gives the green light for repayment to creditors and a smooth further settlement of this complex bankruptcy.”
Oscar Raap represents UWV in the creditors committee and advised the trustees in that capacity. 'It is great that a solution has now been found for this complex and long-standing issue. I would like to thank the curators for the efforts made in the research and the results achieved.'
Verification meeting in autumn 2024
The settlements allow the formal verification meeting to take place on October 10, 2024. During this meeting, the debts to creditors in the bankruptcy of Royal Imtech will be formally determined, led by the supervisory judge. The creditors will be informed about this individually and directly. The verification meetings will take place before the summer in the bankruptcies of three Imtech subsidiaries.
Royal Imtech
The bankruptcy of the listed Imtech group in August 2015 is one of the largest bankruptcies in the Netherlands. Royal Imtech N.V. was a European technical service provider in the field of electrical engineering, ICT and mechanical engineering. With approximately 22,000 employees, Royal Imtech achieved a turnover of approximately € 4 billion per year. After the bankruptcy, the trustees, together with the banks, quickly sold the various divisions in whole or in part to various parties, so that those divisions could continue saving many jobs.
Note for editors
Questions can be asked to curators via mr. Onno Houtschild, telephone number: +31 (0)6 55 720 265 or onno@handsonics.nl.
The exact details of the settlement remain confidential, but further information on the outcome of the settlement will be disclosed in an interim bankruptcy report also due today. This report is published via the Central Insolvency Register at www.rechtspraak.nl and www.faillissementimtech.nl. Additional information about the settlement of the bankruptcy is also available on this site.
Press release:
THIS IS A JOINT PRESS RELEASE REGARDING THE BANKRUPTCY OF ROYAL IMTECH N.V. AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES[1] (THE IMTECH GROUP) BY THE TRUSTEES AND THE BANKS OF ROYAL IMTECH N.V.
Imtech trustees and banks reach agreement on settlement
Amsterdam / Rotterdam 23 October 2023 - The trustees and the banks of Royal Imtech N.V. today announce that they have reached a settlement in the bankruptcy of Imtech. The settlement is the result of the efforts of the trustees and the banks that have succeeded in resolving a potential complex dispute, thereby avoiding lengthy and costly litigation.
The settlement entails a cash payment of EUR 25 million to Imtech, the release of escrow balances amounting to EUR 3.8 million to Imtech, and the withdrawal of the claims of the trustees and the financiers against each other. The settlement is beneficial for the unsecured creditors, as it will result in a higher distribution percentage.
The bankruptcy of the publicly listed Imtech Group in 2015 is one of the largest bankruptcies in the Netherlands and is complex due to the size of the Imtech Group. It affected many creditors, including the group of financiers.
During the past year the trustees and the group of financiers have been able to constructively engage with a view to arrive at a solution recognizing the complexity of the case and which brings the final resolution of the bankruptcy closer, also for the benefit of the joint creditors including the unsecured (trade) creditors. The settlement is the result of the efforts of all parties involved and is entered into by the parties involved without acknowledging any liability. The trustees and the banks are pleased to report that this important hurdle has now been cleared.
Note to Editors:
The exact details of the settlement remain confidential, but further information about the outcome of the settlement in the various estates will be disclosed in the bankruptcy reports, published on: https://www.faillissementimtech.nl/
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[1] This includes Imtech Capital B.V., Imtech Group B.V., Imtech Benelux Group B.V., Imtech UK Group B.V. and Imtech Nederland B.V.
The trading of shares of Royal Imtech N.V. will end on 30 December 2016.
The by court of Rotterdam appointed trustees of Royal Imtech N.V. hereby inform the public that the trading of shares of Royal Imtech N.V. will end on 30 December 2016 at Euronext in Amsterdam. The company Royal Imtech N.V. will be delisted on 2 January 2017.
Kind regards,
mr. J.G. Princen & mr. P.J. Peters
Curatoren/Bankruptcy Trustees Royal Imtech N.V.
Bankruptcy Imtech
On 13 August 2015, the Rotterdam Court has the declared Royal Imtech N.V., with its registered office in Rotterdam office at (2803 PE) Gouda to Kampenringweg 45A, bankrupt. Paul Peters and Jeroen Princen have been appointed as trustees in bankruptcy. In the following weeks several subsidiaries have been declared bankrupt as well. Other subsidiaries have been sold to third parties by a transfer of shares. For more accurate information please find the publics report of Royal Imtech N.V. here.
The trustees will provide information on this website for the creditors and other parties concerned during the liquidation of the bankruptcy of different companies formerly part of the Imtech-group. The information will be presented per bankrupt company. It is of paramount importance that, if you have any questions, you want to file a claim or you want to contact the trustee for other reasons, you direct your inquiry to the corresponding e-mail address of the bankrupt company concerned.
For your information: as already communicated to all -by the trustees- known creditors, claims filed at a different company within the Imtech-group will not be forwarded. These claims will not be included on the list of (preliminary acknowledged) creditors. It is the responsibility of the creditors to file their claims correctly into the right bankruptcy.
The information and data on this website is not intended to offer for any accountability on the state of the assets or provide for any complete insights. Individual creditors and other parties concerned cannot claim any rights on the information provided.
Kind regards,
J.G. Princen, P.J. Peters
Trustees Royal Imtech N.V.