Manager of Italian steel co Lucchini suing Severstal for $142 mln
MOSCOW. Feb 4 (Interfax) - The bankruptcy manager of Italian steel company Lucchini S.p.A, which was previously part of the Severstal Group, is claiming $141.8 million from the Russian steelmaker.
Severstal materials state that the manager intends to claim money from the company that it received from Lucchini for raw materials delivered when the Italian company was no longer part of the group.
The company said the lawsuit has been submitted under Italian bankruptcy law, which allows managers to demand the invalidation of transactions that violated the principle of equal fulfillment of the unsecured claims of all creditors.
"Management does not agree with the presented claims and is taking all the necessary steps to defend its position," Severstal said, adding that it cannot currently assess the final result of the lawsuit and the outflow of financial resources.
If Severstal has to make the payment, the amount will be included in the register of Lucchini creditors and will be compensated in full or partially in the course of bankruptcy proceedings, the steelmaker said.
Severstal closed a deal on June 30, 2010 to sell 50.8% of shares in Lucchini to its principal shareholder Alexei Mordashov for a symbolic price, retaining the other 49.2%. Lucchini's debt when the controlling interest was sold to Mordashov was 800 million euros. The Italian company declared bankruptcy in 2012, and Mordashov and Severstal stepped aside from managing the company.
