Erb group restructured: Volcafe not affected.
GERMANY -- It has recently been disclosed that the Erb group is facing liquidity shortages and revaluation requirements of USD 1.94 billion. Based on current information, the crisis was triggered by the financial commitments of the Erb group, in particular in respect of CBB Holding, one of Germany's biggest property investment companies. The company owes millions to around 80 banks, according to media reports.However, the current financial problems of the Erb group do hot affect business operations of the Volcafe group, which is one of the world's major coffee trading houses. This is due to the fact that Unifina Holding AG owns 80% of Volcafe, and the remaining 20% is owned by 14 executive management partners. Because of this setup, Volcafe has remained autonomous, both financially and in all operational aspects. The only interdependency between Volcafe and Erb remains the 1994 loan to Herfina Holding amounting to USD 10.4 million
The collapse of Erb, which took over Volcafe in 1989, would be one of the biggest corporate failures in Switzerland of the past few years, according to the Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger.
Erb's troubles came into the open after the death of company's chief executive Hugo Erb last summer at the age of 85. The company's longtime auditor in charge of controlling the company's accounts also died this year.
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| Title Annotation: | Trade News |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Tea & Coffee Trade Journal |
| Geographic Code: | 4EXSI |
| Date: | Mar 1, 2004 |
| Words: | 220 |
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