Troubled Greek fish farmer Nireus unable to restructure under antiquated bankruptcy laws
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Wall Street Journal] By Stelios Bouras and Alkman Granitsas - August 20, 2014 -
ATHENS, In the decade before Greece's debt crisis, businessman Aristides Belles rode a wave of acquisitions to turn his company, Nireus Aquaculture SA, into one of the largest fish farmers in the world—a staple of supermarket shelves across Europe.
Today, the company—named after an ancient Greek sea god—is awash in an ocean of debt and has become a parable for the bad loans crippling Greece's corporate sector. Most of the company's big investors have fled, profits and dividends have disappeared and Nireus shares have fallen more than 70% in the past five years.
Greece's bankruptcy laws have stymied a recovery, even as the continent is showing some signs of coming out of its long funk. Those laws make it almost impossible for Greek banks either to rescue the company or shut it down without the consent of its major shareholders.
Mr. Belles, who owns 22% of the company, has refused to concede control...
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