Amsterdam, 11 August 2015

The following is the complete text as spoken during the press conference in Amsterdam this morning:

Administrators Paul Peters and Jeroen Princen have been appointed only at Royal Imtech N.V.

The current Board of Management and divisional directors remain fully and exclusively authorised to manage those divisions. They determine how they will use the financial resources available at the operating companies to continue the business. The administrators of Royal Imtech N.V. hope that the jobs at those divisions will be preserved in close cooperation between Imtech's directors and Imtech's financiers. The banks are at this time the material owners of the Imtech divisions. The administrators are at this time not aware of any termination of the group financing on the part of the banks.

The administrators will this afternoon speak with the trade unions in the Netherlands.

The administrators of Imtech N.V. hope that the following steps will be possible in the very near future:

  • That the banks, as the holders of security interests, will receive an unconditional bid from a
    buyer;
  • That sufficient clarity is provided that said buyer has secured the working capital financing for the divisions to be acquired;
  • That the banks holding security interests pertaining to the shares in the divisions declare that they will accept the bid from said buyer unconditionally;
  • That said buyer and the banks will provide insight into the valuation of said divisions to be acquired that were used for the bid and the acceptation of the bid. This is particularly true with respect to the three major Dutch banks that are reportedly not only financing Imtech N.V. but also hold 47% of the shares and that guaranteed Imtech N.V.'s share issue last year;
  • Imtech N.V.'s banks should provide complete clarity on whether or not they will provide a special short-term loan facility to the operating companies that are currently not subject to creditor protection, and more specifically those located in the Netherlands, which a proposed buyer does not intend to buy from the banks;
  • Because Imtech N.V. has been granted creditor protection, the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board must evaluate a bid from a buyer that has the approval of the financiers with security interests and must also cooperate in the private sale desired by the banks of shares in the divisions a buyer wishes to acquire.
    The administrators are not aware at this time whether the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board are willing to cooperate in this regard;
  • After receiving the opinion of the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board of Imtech N.V., the administrators will evaluate the bid from the buyer and the proposal from the banks as holders of security interests at the earliest opportunity. The administrators have asked the court-appointed bankruptcy judges to come to Amsterdam today;
  • The balance sheet of Imtech N.V. currently shows an amount of EUR 1 billion in goodwill. If the banks waive the debts of the companies to be acquired vis-à-vis a buyer, the goodwill in fact increases for this new shareholder in the Imtech divisions. Just hours after being appointed, the administrators currently have insufficient insight to determine how the capitalised goodwill and the claims from the banks of more than EUR 1.2 billion relate to any bids that may be received;
  • Imtech N.V. and the banks have agreed to additional securities during the pre-pack administration. The administrators consider this to be incorrect at this time and believe that it is to the disadvantage of the other creditors. The administrators hope that the banks will now waive the security rights vested on 5 August 2015.

The administrators Mr. Princen and Mr. Peters have every confidence that an agreement can be reached between the banks and a buyer on the above matters in the very near future. They will provide further information as soon as this is deemed appropriate.

For more information, please contact:
Citigate First Financial
Frank Jansen / Suzanne Bakker
T. +31 (0)20 575 4010
E. frank.jansen@citigateff.nl / suzanne.bakker@citigateff.nl

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