The Bucharest court opened the insolvency procedures against Metro Romania. Egg producer and distributor Tonelli Holding demanded the bankruptcy of the retail giant based on a 57,000 debt. Metro representatives dispute the debt and announced they will challenge the court decision. The Metro judicial manager declared for HotNews.ro that there are two solutions to this problem - the bankruptcy and the reorganization.

Tonelli Holding recorded the insolvency request Metro is accused of in October 2007. The Bucharest Court ruled on May 2008 and the sentence launching the insolvency procedures was published on May 16.

The trial had as object an alleged 57,000 euro debt towards Tonelli. According to the court ruling, the bank accounts of Metro will be used only after the approval of a judge appointed by the court.

Metro officials say that the sum of 57,000 is not entirely certain and that, in any case, the term of "insolvency" is completely out of the question, since the company had a business worth 1.6 billion euro in 2007.

Metro has 23 stores in Romania, adding up to a total of over 158,000 square meters and sells some 17,500 products. At the end of 2007, METRO Cash & Carry Romania had some 7,000 employees.