The Tupperware factory in Montalvo, Constância, will be put up for sale with a minimum value of ten million euros, nine months after the declaration of insolvency, the president of the Creditors Committee revealed this Wednesday, 30th, to Lusa.
According to lawyer Paulo Valério, the operation includes “the building, machinery and equipment, in an integrated package”, with the award expected to fall to “whoever presents the highest bid” for the acquisition of the factory located in the municipality of Constância, district of Santarém.
The sale of the manufacturing unit, which has operated in the parish of Montalvo since 1980, will be promoted by KPMG and should start “in the next few weeks”, said the person in charge.
“The sale process will be promoted by KPMG, hired for this purpose by the insolvent estate, with the sale of the company as a whole being at stake”, explained Paulo Valério, adding that the modality will be made through “proposals in a sealed letter, which will be opened in the presence of the Judicial Administrator”.
The lawyer stated that a minimum value of 10 ME was defined for the transaction.
“The factory must be awarded to whoever presents the highest bid, as long as it complies with the conditions that may be established, namely the provision of a deposit and deadline for the execution of the deed”, he declared.
The valuation of the industrial complex stands at 8.59 ME, according to updated values provided to Lusa.
Movable assets are valued at 3.9 ME, real estate at 4.67 ME and the rustic fraction at 12 thousand euros.
Regarding labor debts, Paulo Valério confirmed that the approximately 200 workers who became unemployed are the biggest creditors in the process.
“The debt owed to workers is 9,074 ME”, he stated, adding that around a third of the amount “has already been settled by the Salary Guarantee Fund in the last month”, a situation confirmed to Lusa by workers and the mayor of the municipality, who has been following the process closely.
“It is a right that workers have and that guarantees them some support in this difficult phase, while the process of selling the factory” in Montalvo continues, said Sérgio Oliveira, noting that “only with the sale of these assets will they be able to receive the compensation to which they are entitled”.
The global recognized liability is 11.47 ME, and the Creditors Committee expects that the proceeds from the sale will allow “a full reimbursement of workers’ credits”, although this will depend on “the proposals actually presented”.
At the same time, international debts from the Tupperware universe are being collected.
“Debt collection from international companies belonging to the Tupperware group is also being promoted, particularly in Ireland and Switzerland, the amount of which amounts to more than 15 ME”, he confirmed.
The future of the factory remains open, and may involve industrial continuity in the same sector. However, the production of Tupperware brand items is not guaranteed.
“The specific production of Tupperware products would depend on holding a license for that purpose, which is not the case”, warned the lawyer.
Even so, “nothing prevents a possible buyer of the factory from negotiating with the holders of the brand’s industrial property rights to obtain such a license in the future”.
The Montalvo factory, which employed around 260 workers, stopped producing in January and was declared insolvent on February 10, after the withdrawal of production and marketing licenses for the Tupperware brand in Portugal.
The Tupperware factory in Montalvo was controlled by the company Tupperware Indústria Lusitana de Produtos Domésticos, which, in turn, was 74% owned by Tupperware Portugal – Artigos Domésticos Unipessoal Lda and 26% by Tupperware Iberia.