The Minister of Economy and the Sea, António Costa Silva, admitted this Monday that the State cannot fully return the funds it will invest in Efacec, although he is convinced that this will happen.
António Costa Silva was speaking at a joint parliamentary hearing of the Committee on Budget and Finance (COF) and the Committee on Economy, Public Works, Planning and Housing as part of the Specialized Evaluation of the State Budget 2024 (OE2024), when he was questioned during the Efacec sale process by MP PSD Jorge Salgueiro Mendes.
“Does this mean that we will return all the investments that the state has made? I won’t say that. We will return part of it because this contract is not a time deposit, it is a mechanism that depends on the company’s ability to return the money. value,” he said.
However, he said he “deeply” believes the state “will be able to restore this value and most likely achieve a stable situation in the future.”
The Minister of Economy announced at the beginning of the month that the sale of Efacec to Mutares had been signed and that the state would invest approximately €160 million more in the company, with Mutares contributing €15 million in capital and €60 million in guarantees. .
The official stressed that the 156 million euros that the state will invest “were designed and calculated” for “financial restructuring” and “represent investments” for the future.
According to Costa Silva, the sustainability of this investment is “guaranteed by market operator tests that have been confirmed by the European Commission.”
“The letter from the European Commission states that any market operator that finds itself in the situation of the Portuguese state will choose the solution of the Portuguese state, which is to transfer the business to EFACEC,” he explained.
The Minister specified that “from now on, the value created and received from EFACEC will be divided two-thirds by the Portuguese State and one-third by Mutares.”
In announcing the signing of the agreement for the privatization of the company, the responsible minister assured that Mutares intends to maintain Efacec’s operational and decision-making center in Portugal.
This Tuesday, Parpública (state-owned) sold the entire company Efacec (nationalized in 2020) to the German investment fund Mutares after receiving approval from the European Commission. Efacec has approximately 2,000 employees.
The state invested a further €160 million in the company, with the government explaining that without “cleaning up” Efacec’s financial position it would not be able to sell it.
This amount is in addition to the 200 million euros that the state has already invested in the company over the past 20 months (to pay fixed costs, including salaries). Still at the state level, Banco de Fomento has Efacec bonds worth 35 million euros (convertible into capital).
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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