Just ahead of next Monday’s creditors’ meeting in the debt restructuring proceedings of GZO Spital Wetzikon, the «rebellious» bondholders led by Clearway Capital have nominated four candidates for the creditors’ committee.

At the meeting in Uster, the creditors will be informed by the administrators about the status of the proceedings. They will also have the opportunity to elect the creditors’ committee as well as a new administrator. The two current office holders, Brigitte Umbach-Spahn and Stephan Kesselbach, are standing for re-election. However, Clearway Capital already proposed Michael Endres at the end of July, citing concerns about the independence of Umbach-Spahn and Kesselbach.

Original Four-Candidate Proposal

According to the press release, several institutional bondholders have confirmed their willingness to serve on the proposed creditors’ committee at the meeting. «Clearway Capital supports the nomination process to ensure adequate representation of bondholders,» the statement said.

And this is the list:

• Norman Gerber has been Director of the insurance cooperative of Swiss physicians, founded in 1926, since 2009. Gerber’s insurance company itself is likely invested in the GZO bond. He is the only candidate who can, in a broader sense, be associated with the healthcare sector.
• Marc Meili is a partner at Independent Credit View AG (I-CV). Founded in 2003, the credit rating and research institute assesses debtors on behalf of institutional investors and issues recommendations. I-CV is an important player in Switzerland’s bond issuer and credit quality evaluation scene. From the outset, Meili has been deeply involved in the GZO case as a rating analyst and is considered an expert in hospital financing (he has also been  quoted multiple times by finews.ch).
• Fritz Jakober is a partner and member of the executive board of Jakober Partner, an owner-managed company providing asset management and advisory services for private and institutional clients. Jakober spent 20 years in various roles at Glarner Kantonalbank before establishing his own firm in 1999. He represents several public-sector creditors.
• Markus Eberle has been Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Nebag, an investment company specializing in Swiss small- and mid-cap equities, since 2003. Eberle previously served for many years, among other roles, as CEO of OZ (OZ Options and Futures and OZ Bankers), which was active in derivatives trading, and later for Valartis Group after the merger. He has long been a member of the GZO Creditor Group led by Clearway Capital, which also includes Gregor Greber, the entrepreneurial and activist investor.

Speaking of Gregor Greber. In October 2024, the bondholders' meeting elected him as an observer representative to the board of directors of GZO Spital Wetzikon.

In comments to finews.ch, he emphasized that all candidates represent prominent institutional investors (such as pension funds and insurance companies) and bring extensive expertise in handling corporate crises. «Our candidates are certainly not locusts,» he said, referring to the unflattering label often applied to speculators focused solely on short-term gains without regard for long-term consequences.

Gregor Greber: «Lack of Transparency and Delaying Tactics»

Greber made it clear that he is dissatisfied with the crisis management of both the administrators and the GZO board. «We repeatedly bring forward proposals for solutions, but they are consistently blocked, delayed, and withheld from open discussion. There is a general lack of transparency. Unfortunately, this also applies to the procedures of the upcoming creditors’ meeting and the rules for the committee’s composition.»

For the entrepreneur, the conclusion is clear: «We need a new administrator who will better represent the interests of creditors.» Otherwise, he warned, next year's vote on the restructuring agreement could end badly. «If the current restructuring plan, with its deep debt haircut, is not substantially improved, creditors will refuse to give their consent—and then the only option left will be bankruptcy.»

A Strategic Move

On a related note, Gerber clarified at least one aspect of his own role: «No, I do not receive any compensation for my activities on the board; I am currently serving on a pro bono basis.»

The nomination of the four candidates could prove to be a clever move. The team is composed in such a way as to represent a broad spectrum of stakeholders involved in the 170 million Swiss francs GZO bond default: a Swiss insurer with direct exposure, a credit analyst advising many affected investors, an independent asset manager working to protect clients’ interests, and a former banker and valuation specialist well-versed in complex financial transactions.

The outcome of Monday's creditors' meeting remains highly anticipated.