Staggering BayWa saved for the next few weeks

The Bavarian agro-trading group BayWa, which is experiencing major financial problems, has at least been saved for the coming weeks. With the help of mainly the company's largest shareholders, approximately €550 million has been raised, which will last them until the end of September, the company announced today. Part of the solution also lies in converting grain stocks into cash.

The amount is split into several parts and is quite complex. At €272 million, the largest share is provided by two banks, namely Bayerische Raiffeisen Beteiligungs AG (BRB) and the Austrian Raiffeisen Agrar Invest (RAIG). Together, they are major shareholders in BayWa through BRB holding with a 34% interest. In addition, €125 million will come from the major shareholders in the form of subordinated loans, of which €75 million had already been paid out.

Baywa itself also divested its 45% shareholding in the BRB holding company to parent company BRB AG with the help of a bank from Frankfurt. This transaction yields €120 million. Furthermore, an interest in another participation has been divested, raising €10 million. Finally, BayWa also generated cash by selling grain stocks worth €20 million at current market prices to shareholder Raiffeisen Agrar Invest and its subsidiaries.

The money will keep BayWa going until the end of September. The Board of Directors expects that a plan will be in place by the end of September, which will secure the future for the longer term. Based on the discussions with banks, shareholders and other stakeholders, there is confidence in a positive outcome. BayWa CEO Marcu Pöllinger says that they will do everything they can to restore trust and become the reliable partner they always were. 

Baywa came in recent months into trouble due to a cocktail of causes, which were mainly concentrated around the company's energy branch. In the Netherlands, the company is active through subsidiaries Cefetra and Abemec.

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is Head of Meat & Dairy at BoerenbusinessAt DCA Market Intelligence, he focuses on dairy, pork, and meat markets. He also monitors (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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