Rafako SA files for bankruptcy. The company was completed by an investment for Tauron. Andrzej Grygiel/East News
Rafako SA is a company providing specialized solutions for the energy, heating and oil and gas sectors both in Poland and abroad. Since 1994, Rafako SA has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. It employs approximately 900 people.
The Polish company is located in Racibórz. Design and technology offices, as well as five production halls and the plant’s management operate there. The company’s units are also located in Gliwice, Belgrade and Wyry. Before midnight on Wednesday, the management board of Rafako SA adopted a resolution to immediately submit a bankruptcy petition.
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From the announcement of Rafako SA it can be learned that the company has lost “the ability to fulfill due obligations, which is of a permanent nature, and thus means that the bankruptcy premise has been met.”
In the opinion of the management board, making a decision to submit an application is currently the only solution that can best protect the interests of Rafako SA itself, but also of creditors, shareholders and people employed in the company.
Rafako SA explained that it was not possible to agree on detailed rules for converting liabilities into shares with creditors or any other scenario for restructuring the terms of repayment of receivables.
If such an option were to appear, the company believes it would allow it to “regain the ability to obtain external financing for the implementation of future orders.”
The Management Board also pointed out that “the possibility of finalizing such arrangements with key creditors within the time horizon required to conduct uninterrupted operating activities has been exhausted.”
The situation was reported in current report no. 41/2024 of September 9, 2024, which contains data on the completion of the mediation proceedings by JSW KOKS SA
The Ordering Party referred to, among others: to increasing delays in the implementation of the contract. The agreement between JWS Koks and Rafako SA concerned the construction of a cogeneration power unit fired with coke oven gas with a capacity of approximately 32 megawatts of electricity and 37 megawatts of heat.
Just before the end of 2023 in December, the previous head of the Ministry of State Assets held talks with shareholders and creditors of Rafako SA, Borys Budka, discussed the company’s current situation and possible future scenarios.
The Ministry of State Assets declared that, within the limits of its powers, it would try to support the process of repairing the situation of Rafako SA. The talks also included entities such as:
On Thursday, December 21, 2023, PBG, the Polish Development Fund, and the Export Credit Insurance Corporation Spółka Akcyjna KUKE agreed to the conversion of Rafako SA’s receivables into new issue shares.
Earlier, the company’s creditors, i.e. PKO BP, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, mBank and PZU, informed the management board of Rafako SA that they did not accept the unconditional conversion of receivables into newly issued shares.
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A 910 MW unit was built in Jaworzno for PLN 6 billion. It was launched with a delay in November 2020. The contractor of the investment was Rafako SA and the ordering party was Tauron. In June 2021, the 910 MW unit was shut down due to faults.
The unit was launched again in April 2022, also experiencing a delay. Later, the 910 MW unit was taken out of use twice more. There was a dispute between Rafako SA and Tauron regarding the causes of irregularities in the operation of 910 MW in Jaworzno.
Rafako SA pointed to the poor quality of coal supplied by Tauron, and Tauron pointed to numerous defects and defects in the structure of the unit, demanding compensation in the form of contractual penalties and compensation for defects and defects of the unit in the amount of PLN 1.3 billion.
Donald Tusk, while still part of the opposition, commented on the matter, as we wrote about in INNPoland.pl. He emphasized that “regardless of who will rule, the future of the Polish energy sector depends to a large extent on them, specifically on a company such as Rafako.”
Donald Tusk appealed that “immediate decisions are needed to make Tauron realize that its task is not to destroy Rafako, but that the government and State Treasury companies are there to support Polish companies and Polish industry, not to bring them down.”
Ultimately, a settlement was reached, according to which the guarantors paid Tauron PLN 240 million. The following entities became guarantors: PKO BP, BGK, mBank and PZU. Thus, Rafako companies joined the creditors.
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