By Eileen Mencias
The MFT Group of Companies, led by its CEO Maria Francesca “Mica” Tan, has initiated negotiations with its creditors to secure consensus on a five-year restructuring plan.
Atty. Estrella Elamparo, legal counsel for MFT, has attributed the substantial financial challenges faced by the Philippine hospital system amid the pandemic as a driving force for select Foundry shareholders to explore debt repayment restructuring.
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MFT secures funding from the Foundry, where Tan is also a co-founder.
The Foundry’s shareholders collectively constitute a pool of creditors dedicated to raising additional capital for MFT and its various ventures, with the understanding that compensation will be facilitated upon reimbursements from MFT.
Elamparo has detailed the proposed plan, which entails the repayment of debt with interest over a five-year horizon. While a majority of creditors have expressed their consent, a minority remains undecided.
She emphasized that the Foundry/MFT creditors are knowledgeable and have profited from the arrangement over the past nine years, with many seeing substantial returns.
“In all the nine years of MFT’s operations, they have consistently reported successful financial cycles each year. However, like many other enterprises, MFT has suffered financially, which has disrupted the scheduled repayments,” Elamparo further explained.
While acknowledging the unfortunate situation, Elamparo expressed optimism for MFT’s recovery as the economy improves. Tan is actively reaching out to partners and shareholders to resolve misunderstandings and aims for a peaceful resolution.
Elamparo has also accused some creditors of the MFT/Foundry of employing tactics to expedite the return of their investments rather than seeking amicable or legal resolutions.
“These creditors are well-educated and, I must emphasize, have benefited from this arrangement, earning significant returns over the past nine years through loans provided to Foundry shareholders. The transactions have always been at arm’s length, and many creditors have realized considerable profits,” she pointed out.