Success Stories
Ownership Transitioned

Managing Celsa’s Historic Restructuring

Ownership Transitioned

Managing Celsa’s Historic Restructuring

Sergio VélezRiccardo Pacelli
Contacts
Sergio Vélez and Riccardo Pacelli

Supporting creditors through a non-consensual in-court restructuring plan and take control — while navigating a new bankruptcy restructuring law.

Celsa was founded in 1967 by a local family and operated as one of the leading European long steel manufacturers, with assets in Spain, Poland, Norway and the UK.

After 2009, the company’s cash generation profile changed dramatically, pushing Celsa into multiple restructuring agreements — first in 2013, and again in 2018. After 2018, most debt had been traded to special situations funds and other private credit investors. In September 2022, a change in restructuring law in Spain allowed Celsa’s creditors to present a restructuring plan unilaterally — the first of its kind in Spain — converting debt into equity and fully diluting the local family office. Celsa’s creditors engaged FTI Consulting to lead the company’s transition during the in-court restructuring plan’s implementation.

Our Impact

FTI Consulting enabled a secure transition of the company to new C-suite roles without any major disruptions in labour, operations or finance, while also providing visibility to the new shareholders. 

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Celsa was able to stabilize and guide the business, drive operational continuity and maintain strategic alignment through leadership transitions and ultimately transition leadership successfully to the incoming management team appointed by new shareholders by drawing on FTI Consulting for interim CEO, CRO, CHRO, and OCFO roles.

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The team proposed and launched a cost savings plan with short-term quick wins to keep the company from losing momentum during the management transition.

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Our team expertly managed Celsa’s liquidity profile in uncertain macro and market scenarios in the context of a non-consensual in-court restructuring plan by creditors.

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In September 2025, the Global M&A Network recognized FTI Consulting during the Turnaround Atlas Awards in the “Distressed Investment Transaction of the Year (Large)” category for its support to Celsa’s creditors during the transaction and transition.

In crisis and transformation,real-world experience delivers.

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Our Role

Deploying interim managers, navigating a secure transition, optimising liquidity and supporting creditors

The restructuring plan was approved in September 2023 and change control started in December 2023. The engagement involved deploying a cross-segment team of more than 30 professionals across four geographies to gather information and integrate with the local teams.   

  1. FTI Consulting restructuring experts served in interim CEO, CRO, CHRO and OCFO roles, subsequently handing off to the new management put in place by the new shareholders.

  2. The team oversaw corporate communications related to the designations of a new President and CEO in an effort to maintain Celsa’s reputation.

  3. FTI Consulting experts also conducted a data mapping and preservation exercise to understand the client's IT infrastructure and launched an investigation into key matters.

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