The plan was prepared in cooperation with the company's insolvency administrators, the EURO Insol and CITR consortium, and was submitted to 1,200 creditors on July 17, 2025, and put to a vote until July 30, 2025. As a result of the vote, 52% of the creditors approved the plan, while 20% voted against it. The plan was endorsed by three out of five creditor categories.
Concrete Actions Across Five Focus Areas
The approved restructuring plan aims to restart the company’s production activities and restore financial stability. It focuses on five key areas: repositioning the steel plant, relocating management to Romania to enhance decision-making transparency, optimizing costs, divesting non-performing assets, and securing sustainable financing.
All Debts to Be Repaid
Under the plan, the company will fully repay:
- Budget-related claims totaling 594 million lei (approx. €117 million),
- A loan of 708 million lei taken via Eximbank under Ukraine’s state aid program,
- 93 million lei (€18 million) owed to other secured creditors,
- 497 million lei (€97 million) in wage claims (including those in Belgium),
- 173 million lei (€34 million) to key suppliers.
Additionally, 399 million lei is planned to be paid to unsecured creditors. If the company's financial performance exceeds expectations, the recovery rate for unsecured creditors could rise above 50%.
A Strategically Important Facility
Remus Borza, President of EuroInsol, stated:
“In the current geopolitical context, LIBERTY Galați is a strategic company not only for Romania but also for Europe. Updating the restructuring plan is a decisive step that not only safeguards the interests of creditors but also supports a vital industrial ecosystem. Thousands of local suppliers depend directly on the plant’s operation, and its recovery carries immense social and economic impact: over 40,000 direct and indirect jobs and the preservation of a local steel supply for key sectors such as industry, infrastructure, defense, and shipbuilding.
EuroInsol’s experience in transforming Hidroelectrica from a bankrupt company into Romania’s most profitable enterprise gives us confidence that the same strategy and vision can be successfully applied here.”
Paul Cîrlănaru, CEO of CITR, added:
“CITR has a strong track record, having managed over 1,200 projects, including some of the most complex cases in Romania’s recent economic history. Based on our experience in restructuring viable companies, we believe LIBERTY Galați possesses all the prerequisites for a sustainable recovery: strategic assets, a solid team, and a steel market that is beginning to stabilize. The plan presented relies on concrete measures combining operational restructuring with new capital attraction, and it’s backed by a realistic financial strategy. We are fully aware that such a process requires rigor, transparency, and close cooperation with creditors and potential investors — and that is exactly where our contribution will focus: securing the financing necessary to successfully complete the project.”
A Decision Impacting Over 40,000 People
The company’s recovery is expected to support the employment of more than 40,000 people directly and indirectly. The continuation of local steel production is also of critical importance to preserving the regional industrial ecosystem.
Liberty Galați’s restructuring process stands out as a significant case within Romania’s industrial reorganization efforts.
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