Vitro Officials Say Settlement Has Been Reached
April 9, 2013

by Penny Stacey, pstacey@glass.com

Vitro S.A.B. de C.V. officials say they have closed the previously announced settlement agreements that they expect to enable the company to definitively conclude its restructuring process.

According to Vitro, the agreements should "effectively end all litigation between Vitro and certain creditors in Mexico and the United States."

"The company is confident that consummation of these transactions as contemplated by the agreement position Vitro to create more value for all its stakeholders, including employees, suppliers, creditors and shareholders, and in particular its customers, especially those in the U.S.," writes the company in a statement. "Specifically, the agreements are a settlement agreement between Vitro and certain non-consenting creditors and other parties, and a separate agreement between Vitro and its financial partner, Fintech."

As part of the agreement, Fintech Investments will receive a note for $235 million (U.S. dollars) with a two-year maturity as well as 12.7 percent of the outstanding share capital of Vitro's subsidiary, FIC Regiomontano S.A.P.I., "as consideration for the withdrawal of awarded claims and for ending the associated legal proceedings related to the requests for involuntary bankruptcies in the U.S."

Vitro officials say they also have reached a preliminary agreement with Fintech, subject to approval by the shareholders of both entities and regulatory and governmental consents, to merge FIC into Vitro. If approved, the merger will result in the exchange of Fintech's shares of FIC for 20 percent of Vitro's voting stock. The company expects to complete this merger within the next six months, according to its statement.

In conjunction with the announcement by Vitro, court records show that on March 28 a "petition for writ of certiorari was filed by [Vitro]" related to Finetech Investments" in the U.S. Supreme Court. On April 3, the Supreme Court issued an order extending the Vitro noteholders' time to file a response to the petition.

"We are very pleased to have closed the transactions to effectively end all litigation and finalize our restructuring process ahead of schedule," says Claudio Del Valle, Vitro's chief restructuring officer. "We are also pleased to announce the merger between FIC and Vitro, which will benefit the company by giving it the flexibility needed to continue its operations. This merger is completely transparent to shareholders, as it exchanges FIC shares for Vitro shares of equivalent value."

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