Q&A for companies affected by Northvolt Ett Expansion's bankruptcy
Here you will find answers to frequently asked questions about bankruptcies as well as more specific questions related to Northvolt Ett Expansion. Detailed information on what applies in general can be found here:
The list of frequently asked questions may be added depending on the questions that the Business Office at Skellefteå municipality encounters. If you have thoughts/comments or want to get in touch with employees at the Business Office, Skellefteå municipality, contact details can be found here:
Q&A generally regarding bankruptcy
When the district court decides on bankruptcy, it is announced in Post- och Inrikes Tidningar. It also states who is appointed as bankruptcy trustee.
The following information has been published regarding Northvolt Ett Expansion AB:
Northvolt Ett Expansion AB, org.nr. 559237-8078, was declared bankrupt by the Stockholm District Court on October 8, 2024. Attorney Jonas Premfors has been appointed bankruptcy trustee
The bankruptcy estate is the legal entity that arises from a bankruptcy. The bankruptcy estate consists of the assets that the bankruptcy trustee takes over when a person or company is declared bankrupt.
The bankruptcy trustee is either a lawyer/senior official of a central insolvency office or a lawyer from the circle of bankruptcy trustees. The bankruptcy trustee is appointed by the district court. The liquidator is the person who ensures that the assets of the bankrupt company are converted into money which is then distributed to the creditors at the end of the bankruptcy. The bankruptcy trustee is also responsible for other aspects of the bankruptcy, such as personnel matters and the bankruptcy investigation.
If there are assets in a bankruptcy estate, the trustee must make a distribution proposal with a priority order that follows the preferential law. It has three levels:
- Special priority
- General priority
- Non-priority claims
Special priority applies to claims that have a security attached to them, such as real estate or other collateral.
General priority concerns, for example, claims related to the preparation of pre-bankruptcy accounts, salaries and fees.
Other claims, such as taxes and accounts payable, are non-priority. If there are any assets left after preferential claims have been paid, the remaining money is distributed among the non-priority creditors.
- If you file for bankruptcy on your own, the district court will usually decide on bankruptcy on the same day.
- If you as a creditor (the person/company you owe money to) file for someone else's bankruptcy, the district court will convene a hearing in court within 2 weeks. Should the company or person agree to be declared bankrupt before the hearing has taken place, the court can cancel the hearing and make its decision immediately.
- However, it is difficult to know how long the whole process will take before the bankruptcy can be finalized. This depends, among other things, on whether there are assets in the bankruptcy estate, the number of issues to be investigated, whether litigation is required, etc. Larger bankruptcies usually last 1-4 years but can last even longer.
- To be declared bankrupt, a company or individual must be insolvent. This is assessed by the district court. Being insolvent means being unable to pay your debts, and this must not be temporary.
- This means that it is not enough for a company or person to have more debts than assets. If it is expected that money will come in soon so that the debts can be paid, the company or person should not be declared bankrupt.
- For the district court to decide on bankruptcy, someone must file for it. If a creditor files for bankruptcy against a debtor, the creditor must be able to prove that the debtor owes them money and that the debtor is insolvent.
Q&A regarding me as a creditor
Such claims can be invoiced and enforced in bankruptcy. The claims are paid to the extent that there are dividends in the bankruptcy.
Contracts are valid until they expire or are terminated. In most cases, the bankruptcy estate has the right to enter into the contract. If the bankruptcy estate does not enter into the contract, you often have the right to cancel the contract. In some cases, a contract can be transferred to a buyer by the bankruptcy estate. This is often done by mutual agreement between the bankruptcy estate and the bankrupt company's counterparty. For some contracts, such as leases, there are special rules in bankruptcy.
If you need help on what applies to your particular contract, you should contact a lawyer.
The bankruptcy estate includes
- property that belonged to the debtor when the bankruptcy order was issued
- property that accrues to the debtor during the bankruptcy that is liable to seizure, and
- property that can be added to the estate through recovery.
If the property is owned by someone other than the bankruptcy company, that person is entitled to recover the property from the bankruptcy estate. The burden of proof is always on the person claiming to own certain property.
If you own property that is within a bankruptcy company's territory, you should contact the bankruptcy trustee and make him/her aware of your ownership. After investigation, the bankruptcy trustee will inform you of his/her position on the claim (separation claim). If the liquidator hands over the property, you will agree with him/her how and when the property can be collected. If you do not agree with the liquidator, you should contact a lawyer.
The starting point is that it is the bankruptcy company that owns what the bankruptcy company has purchased, even if the purchase has been made on credit/invoice. However, if the parties have agreed on a retention of title before delivery, you may under certain circumstances be entitled to get the goods back. You should contact the bankruptcy trustee on this matter and if you disagree with him/her, you should contact a lawyer.
It is not important to act immediately, the creditors will not be in a better position if you act quickly, but all creditors will be dealt with on the basis of the preferential regime. The bankruptcy trustee often has a lot to do initially and is therefore not able to answer anything other than urgent questions that are, for example, linked to continued operation and so on. To ensure that your claim is listed, you can contact the bankruptcy company and ask them to confirm that this is the case. You can also contact the bankruptcy trustee and register your claim. Sometimes the bankruptcy trustee will post information on continuing operations, how to monitor your claim and general information about the bankruptcy on its website. If this is the case, you can check regularly for further information on the bankruptcy.
In the first instance, contact your accountant or accounting firm for advice. Also check whether you are entitled to advice through membership of a trade association/employers' organization. For legal advice, you should contact a person working as a company reorganizer and/or bankruptcy trustee. This could be a lawyer or a solicitor (as above) working in insolvency law.
Small bankruptcies usually last 6-18 months. Larger bankruptcies usually last 1-3 years but can last even longer.
If your questions concern payment problems resulting from the bankruptcy of the counterparty, you should contact someone who works in the field of bankruptcy administration and business reorganization. For accounting and tax issues, you should contact your accountant or accounting firm in the first instance.
It is still too early to say anything about the outcome of the bankruptcy. Within a month or two, the bankruptcy trustee should have a better idea of what the dividend will be in the bankruptcy. With the help of the bankruptcy estate inventory that must be drawn up in the bankruptcy within 2 months (it may take additional time in some cases), it is possible to make a preliminary assessment of what payment can be expected. The final outcome of the bankruptcy will only be known when the bankruptcy is closed.
The bankruptcy estate can incur its own debts, and all the assets of the bankrupt company are held as security for the bankruptcy estate to pay. The bankruptcy estate's debts must be paid before any dividend is paid in the bankruptcy at all. If the bankruptcy estate has assets, further deliveries are very safe to make.