manroland has agreed to a financial agreement

worth €55m (￡47.3m) to allow it to keep operating

despite filing for insolvency last week

Print systems manufacturer manroland, which filed for insolvency last Friday, has announced an agreement that will extend 'Massekredit', which is similar to debtor-in-possession financing, worth €55m (￡47.3m) to the company. The agreement will allow manroland to 'continue to do business with customers and suppliers'.

Provisional insolvency administrator for the company Werner Schneider says €10m (￡8.5m) will form a pool from which the company may draw cash while the remaining €45m (￡38.6m) will be released by the lending banks to address foregone loans for which insolvency was filed in the first place. The solution 'ensures the required liquidity without the banks having to provide new debt'.

"Immediate action was essential as an interruption of production does harm the company and makes the desired sales process more difficult," comments Schneider. "Continuation of production and business operations at manroland is therefore secured."

The new financing agreement will permit manroland to fulfil its liabilities towards those who placed or received orders since the company filed, while earlier transactions will be dealt with 'later in the process', according to the company.

In a statement, manroland blamed market conditions for its troubles. The company says its agreement is 'sending a very positive signal to the market'.