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Nyrstar Faces Shareholder Bid for Court-Appointed Administrator
Shareholders seek a court-appointed manager for Nyrstar, citing governance concerns. The company contests the petition. The Antwerp court will weigh the request after previous adjournments.
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Nyrstar NV said Friday that a group of shareholders filed a petition for interim measures with the Antwerp Enterprise Court, seeking a court-appointed provisional administrator to run the zinc smelter for at least 12 months.
The petition, dated June 26, asks the court to give a provisional administrator full authority over management and administration, including the power to decide on legal claims against former directors and third parties. The shareholders also requested, as a fallback, an ad hoc trustee with similar powers. Both requests would let the appointee determine Nyrstar’s position in pending litigation and even decide on cessation of activities, dissolution or liquidation, according to the company’s press release.
The company said it contests the allegations and will defend its position. It noted that the same shareholders have filed similar claims since 2019, most recently in March 2024. The court adjourned those proceedings indefinitely in January 2025.
The petition targets Nyrstar’s board and comes within the framework of a broader lawsuit initiated by the shareholders in May 2020. That case was introduced in November 2020 but immediately sent to the docket at the plaintiffs’ own request, the company said.