"We are looking for a solution that will unlock the financial resources needed to invest in the Luandina and Sagres production line," a source from IGAPE told Lusa, refusing to elaborate on the estimated values.
"There is still no defined value, we are analyzing it with Sodiba's management", he added.
Sodiba, a brewery owned by Isabel dos Santos, daughter of former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos, was arrested in December 2019 by order of the Luanda Provincial Court.
At the time, Sodiba's management was appointed as the trustee of the shares, a situation that remained until February 2022, when IGAPE assumed itself as the trustee of the shares.
IGAPE explained, in a statement released on Friday, that the decision was taken on the basis of a request submitted by the National Asset Recovery Service (SENRA) of the Attorney General's Office (PGR) to the Court, given the risk of stoppage of operations, "due to the financial stress situation in which the company finds itself".
"It is important to note that Sodiba suffers from a structural financial imbalance, as it does not generate enough revenue to cover the cost of servicing the debt contracted with banks, namely for investment in the factory", added IGAPE.
IGAPE also emphasizes that "it has never assumed, and this is not even its vocation, the management of that company", rejecting responsibility for delays in the payment of salaries, "a task that is solely the responsibility of the management of the company, which has not yet been any intervention or alteration on the part of the trustee"
At issue are the 160 workers in Sodiba's distribution area who were not covered by the contract to transfer the operation of the factory, signed in March 2021, with the beverage company Refriango.
Under the terms of this contract, more than 250 workers from Sodiba transferred to Refriango, which undertook to pay their salaries, except for workers in the distribution area, whose remuneration depends on the sale of products from Sodiba's original brands (Luandina and Sagres) that are not sufficient to cover the cost of such distribution.
The lack of investment in the production line in which these beers are made led to the stoppage of production and, without product to sell, the workers whose remuneration depends on sales were also without receiving
IGAPE guaranteed, in the statement, that it is looking for "solutions that ensure the continuity of operations, preservation of the equity value and the mitigation of the social risk inherent in the stoppage of the company", together with the bodies involved in this process.
