Chopfab Boxer seeks help from Locher brewery due to debt hole
Published: Thursday, Feb 15th 2024, 13:11
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The Chopfab Boxer brewery, which has run into financial difficulties, is confident that it will soon be able to restructure. Specifically, it is negotiating with Appenzeller Brauerei Locher about a capital contribution.
"We have already been in talks with Locher Brewery for almost three months and expect to conclude the talks in the next two to three weeks after the negotiations with the creditors," explained the management of Chopfab Boxer on Thursday at the request of the news agency AWP. Several media outlets had previously reported on the financial difficulties of the brewing company from Winterthur.
The rapid growth of Chopfab Boxer AG was abruptly halted by the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, sales have stagnated in today's difficult beer market, the company said, explaining its financial worries.
"At the same time, Chopfab Boxer is faced with high costs that cannot be covered while sales are stagnating. On the one hand, these costs are due to the enormous increase in energy and raw material prices, and on the other hand, the sharp rise in interest rates has had a negative impact on profitability," the management of Chopfab Boxer continued.
The company did not want to put a figure on the size of the debts: "We do not disclose any figures." The debts consist of loans from shareholders and banks. Creditors also include suppliers and state institutions, it added.
Negotiations with creditors on debt waivers
Several steps are planned to reduce debt. A 100% waiver of loan claims by shareholders against the company and a waiver of a significant amount of loan claims by the financing banks have already been agreed, the management added.
Negotiations are also underway regarding debt waivers from creditors such as suppliers and state institutions. A result is expected in two to three weeks.
Announcement expected at the beginning of March
Following successful negotiations with creditors, a capital injection by Locher Brewery is planned, Chopfab Boxer continued: "The aim is to ensure that the company can be sustainably restructured and maintained independently." Whether the restructuring will succeed is expected to be communicated at the beginning of March.
Chopfab Boxer was explicitly looking for a Swiss solution. "As a family business, the Locher brewery is our partner of choice. We share the same values and a great passion for a living Swiss brewing culture," the company wrote. Chopfab Boxer employs a total of 90 people at its sites in Winterthur and Yverdon-les-Bains.
If the restructuring succeeds, Chopfab Boxer would become the sixth-largest brewery and join forces with Switzerland's number three. According to estimates by the "Handelszeitung" newspaper, the two together could catch up with or even overtake the second-largest provider in Switzerland, Heineken with its Calanda and Eichhof brands.
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