The news is advanced by Jornal Económico, which states that Isabel dos Santos will have harsh criticisms of the Portuguese Government, led by António Costa, taking into account the decision to nationalize the company. The businesswoman is said to have questioned why only the 71 percent she owns are nationalized, saying she was not heard in a prior hearing before the decision.
In this way, the daughter of ex-President José Eduardo dos Santos went to court, trying to halt Efacec's nationalization process and recover the 71 percent she owned of the Portuguese company.
“The company Winterfell, in the scope of the exercise of its rights, informs that following the publication in the Diário da República of 2 July 2020 of Decree-Law No. 33-A / 2020, within the competent legal term and in the expropriated, presented on 25 September, to the Supreme Administrative Court, an action challenging the administrative act and the decision of the Government to nationalize its shares in EFACEC ”, can be read in a statement sent by the businesswoman's communication advisory.
Among the arguments presented, Isabel dos Santos claims that “only Winterfell's shares (71.73 percent of the share capital) were nationalized and not those of the other shareholders. In other words, Efacec was not truly nationalized, contrary to what was publicly announced ”.
He adds that the “act of nationalization assumed a merely temporary character, since in this case the nationalized shares (71.73 percent of the share capital) will be immediately resold to private individuals. In comparison, the rest (28.27 percent) remain in the ownership of the other current shareholders, without any changes ”.
According to the same publication, Winterfell also complains about the “absence of a prior hearing” before nationalization, unlike “the other shareholders who were heard by the Government”.
The note also highlights a caveat that ensures that the “impugnation action does not prejudice nor disturb the normal functioning of Efacec, which may operate normally and will be kept completely on the margins of this action, and will continue until the final judgment of a sentence held by State".
Isabel dos Santos became majority shareholder of Efacec in October 2015, disbursing 200 million euros to control the company through the company Winterfell Industries. The previous shareholders, José de Mello and Têxtil Manuel Gonçalves (TMG) groups, became minority shareholders.
