In a bankruptcy application submitted to the Vienna Commercial Court in November, Cigna Holding's total debts stood at five billion euros, but now register a good 8.6 billion. According to court-appointed insolvency administrator Christof Stapf, only about 80.3 million euros – a fraction of this – has been approved so far.
Many requests were submitted to the court without the necessary documents or too late. A total of 302 lenders filed claims. The bankruptcy administrator considers that the claims are probably unsustainable to this extent.
How requests are classified according to Stapf
According to the bankruptcy administrator, around 5.1 billion euros are for liability claims alone (mostly through guarantees and letters of comfort) and 1.6 billion euros for intra-group payments, such as loans. It said the claims within the group were completely disputed.
Trade payables are relatively managed at 1.5 million euros, as are general tax claims of around 940,000 euros and rent claims of around 260,000 euros.
“It is up to creditors to provide the necessary documentation to properly process claims filings through the bankruptcy court,” Stapf said. Disputed claims may be asserted by litigation in bankruptcy court. The lenders were given a two-month grace period for this. During this time the bankruptcy trustee will continue to examine the claims.
No self-administered bankruptcy
It was revealed last week that Cigna Holdings is giving up autonomy in the restructuring process and a restructuring manager will take the helm. A reduction in the bankruptcy rate has yet to be claimed. A minimum provision of 30 percent is provided to lenders within two years. A vote on the restructuring plan is scheduled for late April.
In addition, the bankruptcy trustee announced to the media that discussions about selling Cigna's shares in New York's Chrysler Building were still ongoing. It also said two arbitration claims, Mubadala from the United Arab Emirates and AM1 from Qatar, are still pending. According to the bankruptcy administrator, it pays 713 million euros, or 296 million euros. Cigna Holdings had applied to block both operations on bankruptcy grounds.
