Under the new private management, the Mendoza-based metallurgical company managed to reverse several years of losses
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Less than a year after the privatization of IMPSA by the Government of Javier Milei, the emblematic metallurgical company is beginning to show the first positive results from the deep restructuring process undertaken by its new owners.
The company, one of the largest and most historic in the Argentine industry, is going through a recovery phase that marks a clear contrast with previous years, when its financial situation had brought it to the brink of collapse.
The American fund Industrial Acquisitions Fund LLC (IAF), which took control of IMPSA in February, quickly fulfilled its promise to organize the heavy liabilities accumulated over more than a decade and recorded the first surplus in years.
IMPSA
This was the first case of privatization carried out within the framework of the reform program and reduction of the State promoted by President Javier Milei, who had inherited a nationalized company and deeply indebted by the administration of Alberto Fernández in 2021 to prevent its bankruptcy.
The new management acquired the shares of the national government and the province of Mendoza through a payment of USD 20 million, in addition to committing a capital contribution of USD 27 million and a plan to refinance the company's massive debt of USD 550 million.
In September, after a process of negotiations with international organizations and major banks, including BID, CAF, Export Development Canada, Banco Nación, Bapro, BICE, and holders of Negotiable Obligations, IMPSA achieved something that until recently was unthinkable: 98% adherence to the new restructuring scheme proposed under the Out-of-Court Preventive Agreement (APE).
The plan provides for the issuance of new debt for USD 583 million, amortizable in nine equal annual installments from 2036 to 2044, with no principal reductions. The proposal also received approval from the Bankruptcy Court of Mendoza, allowing the resolution of a case that had gone years without a definitive solution.
IMPSA
IMPSA's first surplus
However, the most significant fact is that the reorganization is beginning to be reflected in operational performance. For the first time in five years, IMPSA recorded a surplus: between January and September, it achieved profits of $205,953 million, reversing the accumulated losses not only of 2024, but also of the previous four years.
According to the report sent to the National Securities Commission (CNV), this rebound is due to investments in infrastructure, technological modernization, staff training, and improvements in production processes, actions promoted by the new management to reposition the company in the global market.
The company also highlights the opportunities offered by growing energy demand and the potential for new contracts in hydro-electromechanical and nuclear equipment, where IMPSA has a recognized international track record.
The new shareholders emphasize that, for the first time since 2017, the company has a controlling group committed to a long-term business plan. They also stress that the restructuring not only ensures the continuity of operations, but also the preservation of more than 600 direct jobs and the work of more than 100 supplier SMEs.
The IMPSA case has thus become an early example of the model that Javier Milei's Government seeks to establish: state-owned companies that, under private management, regain competitiveness, efficiency, and the ability to generate value. In this regard, the recovery of the Mendoza-based company stands out as a milestone for the Milei administration.
