Phoenix Solar’s newly appointed insolvency administrator in talks with potential investors

The German district court of Munich has appointed lawyer Michael Jaffé as provisional insolvency administrator of insolvent PV project developer, Phoenix Solar.

According to a statement released by the law firm Jaffé Rechtsanwälte on Monday, Jaffé should now secure the existing assets in the interest of creditors and examine the possibility of continuing the business, or restructuring it.

“We are still at the very beginning of the process. It is too early to make a statement about the prospects of success, “said Jaffé on Monday, talking to Phoenix Solar employees at the Sulzemoos site.

“We now have to work hard to keep the company working. For this we need the support of banks and customers,” he added.

At the employee meeting, the lawyer informed the workforce of the first steps. They are expected to receive the insolvency money due to them “as quickly as possible”. The company's employees received their regular salaries until November.

The board and the insolvency administrator are currently working to ensure that ongoing projects – mainly in the Asia-Pacific region – continue to be developed as planned. With its own subsidiaries in ten countries on three continents, and around 120 permanent employees, the company is building large-scale photovoltaic power plants. It achieved sales of around €140 million in 2016.

Meanwhile, first talks with potential investors have already started. “Some interested parties have already show their interest,” CFO Manfred Hochleitner told employees in Sulzemoos.

How long these talks will be held, however, is still difficult to say, as pv magazine has learnt from a spokesperson from Jaffé Rechtsanwälte. He added that the company’s employees will continue to receive insolvency money until the end of February.

The bankruptcy filing on December 13 became necessary after U.S. subsidiary, Phoenix Solar Inc. received a payment request from an unidentified customer to the tune of US$8 million. Attempts by management to come to a solution with the U.S. customer and the bank consortium in Germany were unsuccessful.

As of the end of September 2017, Phoenix Solar reported a cash position of €2.2 million. With the appointment of the insolvency administrator, a provisional committee of creditors has now been set up to include representatives of the most important groups of creditors.