Dairy and agricultural group Chilterra in Chile enters into judicial reorganization: liabilities reach US$ 60 million

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Dairy and agricultural group Chilterra enters into judicial reorganization: liabilities reach US$ 60 million

It is one of the two main dairy producers nationwide, and its largest creditors are the banks Rabobank, Scotiabank and Itaú, as well as Prolesur.

A newly formed company went to court to try to put its complicated finances in order and thus avoid bankruptcy. It is the dairy and agricultural group Chilterra, which controls the Ríos family and New Zealand capital.

The Chilterra and Agrícola Dos Ríos companies filed requests for judicial reorganization, in order to restructure their financial liabilities and those of their suppliers.

The conglomerate pointed to increases in production costs and input prices, caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

The debts of both companies reach US$ 60 million, and their main creditors are the banks Rabobank, Scotiabank and Itaú, as well as Prolesur, a subsidiary of Soprole focused on the supply of milk and the manufacture of products in the south of Chile.

The Chilterra group is advised by the law firm of Luis Felipe Castañeda, which specialized in these matters.

The companies began their operations in 1993 in the production of milk, cattle breeding and agricultural exploitation, operating in the regions of Los Ríos, Los Lagos and Araucanía.

Currently, the conglomerate has nine milking parlours, more than 13 thousand head of cattle and operates more than 7,200 agricultural hectares.

It is one of the two main dairy producers at the national level and directly employs more than 200 people, the majority from Mapuche communities, according to those familiar with the process.

The main reasons that have led societies to initiate these judicial reorganization processes are due to increases in production costs and input prices, caused by the pandemic, and by the war in Ukraine.

However, officials who participate in the reorganization explain, that the group trusts that as a result of an adequate restructuring of its liabilities, it will be possible to balance the situation of the companies and maintain their production level, considered essential for the country’s food supply.

These requests are added to a long list of companies that have resorted to the Chilean justice system to restructure their liabilities, mainly from sectors such as construction and commerce.

One of the last large firms that filed a request for reorganization under local justice was La Cruz Inmobiliaria y Constructora, owned by the former president of the Chilean Chamber of Construction, Daniel Hurtado, and Marcelo Garrido. The firm has liabilities close to US$80 million and the main creditors are Scotiabank, Consorcio and Santander banks. Also advised by Castañeda Abogados.

Source: Luis Felipe Castañeda Catalán, Lawyer specializing in Insolvency and Financial Restructuring.

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