This Wednesday, the government officially announced the sale of Efacec to the German investment fund Mutares, but announced that it would invest a further 160 million euros in the company, as well as issue a guarantee of 72 million euros linked to bank financing.
The new shareholders will retain 100% of the company in which they will invest 15 million euros and provide a guarantee of 60 million euros, with the choice of the Minister of Economy justified by “the industrial plan that Mutares has for Efacec.”
António Costa Silva said it was a “happy day for the Portuguese economy” as it brought an end to a transitional nationalization of the company that lasted more than three years, and said he hoped to “recover some of the investment” in the future. .
The minister defended the decision taken in 2020, saying that “the collapse would mean the end of several small and medium-sized companies”, which would be “a catastrophic black hole for the Portuguese economy.”
State Secretary of Finance João Nuno Mendes noted that so far the public treasury has invested “10 million euros per month over the last 20 months” in the electrical equipment manufacturer for a total of 200 million euros.
As a result, the company spent 513 million euros between previous shareholders, banks and buyers.
The electrical equipment company was nationalized in 2020 after the Luanda Leaks legal scandal affected businesswoman Isabel dos Santos, then the company’s majority shareholder, causing Efacec’s sales to fall and debt to accumulate.
Author: João Reis Alves
Source: CM Jornal
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