bmp greengas GmbH initiates protective shield proceedings

Munich, 1 June 2023. bmp greengas GmbH, based in Munich, has filed an application to open protective shield proceedings. Due to shortfalls in the biomethane gas sector, it is planned to adjust existing contracts with customers to the changed procurement situation as part of a restructuring process.

 The reason why this protective shield procedure has been initiated is the fact that shifts in the market, as well as the Ukraine war, have made it impossible for bmp to deliver the quantities of biomethane agreed with its customers. These quantities are not available to bmp due to the dramatically changed procurement situation, or are only available with significant difficulty. For this reason, bmp is not in a position – irrespective of increased prices – to fully meet its obligations to its customers.

Despite a significant amount of effort on bmp’s part, it has been unable to eliminate the imbalance in the procurement situation that has occurred which has made it impossible for the company to create a contractual situation that can be fulfilled. As a result, there was a danger of treating customers unequally without further measures. “Due to the drastic changes in the marketplace in recent years, we are being forced to take appropriate measures to prevent risk and damage from contracts that cannot be fulfilled and to create a state of affairs in which we can give customers what is actually possible, based on fair criteria. Alas, this couldn’t be achieved through the efforts made thus far,” bmp managing directors Stefan Schneider and Sven Kraus said.

The only option for reaching a solution in the short term with its customers – based on the quantities that bmp is able to procure – is the instrument of the protective shield procedure. This means that existing contracts can be terminated unilaterally by bmp and new contracts concluded on the basis of the quantities that can actually be procured and delivered. A corresponding information notice has been sent to customers and suppliers, and information meetings / discussions with them are taking place today.

Overseeing and implementing this reorganisation will be the experienced and recognised reorganisation expert Jochen Sedlitz from the law firm GRUB BRUGGER. He has been appointed to bmp’s management team for the duration of the reorganisation process.

“Debtor-in-possession is an effective tool under the protective shield procedure to conscientiously restructure companies. I would like to emphasise that the jobs of all 60 of our employees are secure and will continue to be so in the future,” explains Jochen Sedlitz.

bmp plans to complete this restructuring of the contractual situation within the next two months and then submit a reorganisation plan that will bring the proceedings to an end – in the interest of all parties involved. Overall, the company expects the proceedings to last until the end of September. Thereafter, bmp will be restructured for the long term and will thus be able to operate regularly in the marketplace once more.