Romania’s state-controlled supplier of services in the air defence industry, Romaero, entered insolvency at its request after a court ruled in December that it should pay EUR 17 million in compensations for failure to upgrade a Boeing 737-200 to one of its customers. At stake are Romaero’s plots of land located in the northern outskirts of Bucharest.

Last summer, the company missed the chance to become a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre for Black Hawk helicopters produced by the American military giant Lockheed Martin, Profit.ro reported. Earlier, it lost certification to provide services for Boeing aircraft.

The company’s management obtained last November the shareholders’ approval for the sale by auction of several buildings and plots of land located in District 1 in Bucharest at the total starting price, established by evaluation, of RON 87.2 million (EUR 18 million) plus VAT. However, its creditors – CEC Bank and the tax collection agency ANAF – blocked the deal.

Romaero’s financial situation has been problematic for years. CIT Restructuring developed and implemented a restructuring plan for the company in 2020, based on which CEC Bank granted Romaero loans in the total amount of about RON 60 million.

The company owed RON 330 million to the state budget at the end of 2019. At the end of September 2023, Romaero had arrears with the state in the total amount of almost RON 436 million, including interest and penalties. Other creditors of Romaero are BCR and Apa Nova.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos / George Călin)