MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - According to a restructuring expert, the highly indebted Baywa Group can save itself by shrinking back to health. A second draft of the expert opinion commissioned in July confirms the "restructuring capability" of the Munich-based company, which is suffering from a mountain of debt. This was announced by Baywa in a mandatory announcement for the stock exchange.

Foreign business in particular to be reduced

All four business units - Agriculture, Building Materials, Energy and Agricultural Equipment - can therefore be retained, but the restructuring concept provides for the sale of "certain significant, in particular international shareholdings".

The experts also call for "organizational streamlining" and numerous operational savings measures. The issue of new shares with subscription rights for existing shareholders is another building block intended to generate fresh money. The restructuring should be completed by the end of December 2027.

Three-digit million loss

Baywa, which emerged from the cooperative movement, is the largest German agricultural trader and is particularly important for agriculture and food supply in southern and eastern Germany. The main shareholders are the holding companies of the Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken in Bavaria and Austria. In the first nine months, the net loss of the 101-year-old traditional company amounted to just under 641 million euros. The financial supervisory authority Bafin has been reviewing the annual net profit for 2023 for almost three weeks because the company may have spared its financial risks.

The Baywa crisis is being exacerbated by the weak global economy. In the first nine months of the year, both the agricultural business and renewable energies performed poorly for the most part, with growth only in fruit and vegetable trading and the sale of agricultural machinery./cho/DP/mis