Pearls company Majorica now has a buyer

The financial offer was raised by almost three million euros

Majorica trademarks and properties will be acquired. | Emilio Queirolo

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma27/05/2021 12:18

There is now a buyer for the bankrupt pearls company Majorica. The commercial court which has been overseeing the bankruptcy process has come down in favour or Majorperla, which raised its financial offer to 12.3 million euros and also increased the number of jobs it will retain from 96 to 161 of the 277, almost 60% of the worforce. The offer will also keep working conditions as they are.

Majorperla is owned by French businessman Gregorie Augustin Bontoux-Halley, who is a director with the retailer Carrefour. This company's previous offer was the best in terms of the financial aspect, but the court deemed it unsatisfactory because of the number of jobs that would go. An auction among interested parties was therefore held, and Majorperla has once more put in the best bid. It has in fact increased the financial offer to an extent that there will be liquidity of six million euros (compared to the previous 2.2 million) once severance payments and debts have been paid. There will in fact be a surplus of 3.3 million euros.

The judge, who had recognised that the original Majorperla bid was the only one which satisfactorily addressed the debts, decided against Majorperla's closest rival for the award, Nova Mallorca Inversiones. This did guarantee twenty more jobs than the Majorperla bid, but the judge determined that it did not satisfactorily meet creditors' demands.

The value of the Majorperla offer has risen from 9.5 million to 12.3 million euros. It will acquire Majorica trademarks, patents and intellectual property, the leases of stores and the two properties in Manacor. In addition, it will take over existing agreements for the distribution of pearls in numerous countries and for the sale of products through the department store El Corte Inglés.