Vitarich rehab plan underway, buyers keen

Vitarich chairman Rogelio Sarmiento said the company needs breathing room, as the demands made by its creditors would have led to the collapse of the company.

A rehabilitation receiver has been appointed and the initial hearing on the petition for rehabilitation has been scheduled for 8 November 2006.

Since the court order was issued, two companies – one local and one foreign – have expressed interest in taking over the financially troubled company.

But the court order bars Vitarich from selling, encumbering, transferring or disposing its properties except in the ordinary course of business.

It also prohibits Vitarich from making any payment of its liabilities starting on the date of the filing of petition for rehabilitation while barring suppliers from withholding goods and services if the firm continues to pay for these goods and services.

Sarmiento said his family, which holds a 65 percent stake in Vitarich, was willing to sell its interest but only after the implementation of the rehabilitation plan.