BOURBON Corporation asks for reorganization proceedings as a result of guarantees activated by Chinese company ICBC Leasing
25 Juillet 2019 - 7:00PM
DRAFT / Marseilles, July 25, 2019,
BOURBON Corporation asks for
reorganization proceedings as a result of guarantees activated by
Chinese company ICBC Leasing
BOURBON Corporation announced today that it has
requested for reorganization proceedings (redressement judiciaire)
to the Commercial Court of Marseilles.
In a series of letters sent on July 18, 2019,
the Chinese Group ICBC Leasing had expressed its intention to
demand from BOURBON Corporation the payment of all outstanding
rental payments up to 2026 as part of the guarantee provided to
contracting companies, today in arrears. Considering that despite
these calls in guarantee, it was not in state of cessation of
payments, BOURBON Corporation filed a request for “sauvegarde”
procedure. By decision of 24 July 2019, the Commercial Court of
Marseilles rejected this request, considering that the guarantees
activated by the Chinese company ICBC Leasing are proof that
BOURBON Corporation is insolvent as of July 24, 2019.
BOURBON Corporation has taken note of this
judicial decision and draws the necessary conclusions thereby
requesting for reorganization proceedings.
The reorganization proceedings will only concern
the holding company BOURBON Corporation and not the operating
companies, which will be able to continue their normal operations
and continue to meet the needs of customers.
BOURBON Corporation's aim is to preserve the
Group's operating activities in order to actively participate in
the emerging recovery of a profoundly changing market. BOURBON is
thus continuing the radical transformation of its business model,
with the deployment of the
#BOURBONINMOTION strategic action
plan.
These calls on guarantees from ICBC Leasing were
made despite the ongoing amicable negotiations on the financial
restructuring of the group's bank and lease debt.
Following the Shareholders' Meeting of June 28,
BOURBON had proposed two options for the payment of its financial
commitments to its creditors, based on the principle of value
creation sharing:
a) Share market risk and
thus receive a reduced fixed part along with a variable part
dependent on the net cash generated per vessel provided as
guarantee for loans or leased property, in order to benefit from
the pace and intensity of the recovery in the offshore services
market over time;
b) Take on the company's
risk and in this case agree with BOURBON on a reduced amount of
debt to be repaid, with interest and repayable over 8 years, and
receive BOURBON Corporation shares in compensation for the
non-reimbursed part. These non-reimbursed debts and abandoned lease
obligations would give access, according to this proposal, to a
maximum of 30% of BOURBON Corporation's share capital.
BOURBON thus offered ICBC Leasing a cash payment
equal to the amount it requested as part of the Banks' offer they
were part of, which was announced in their own press release dated
June 5, 2019.
The treatment of the debts related to the
guarantees provided to the sole Chinese operational leasing
entities, ICBC Leasing and Minsheng Leasing, as well as the
Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM), which are the only creditors
to benefit from BOURBON Corporation's guarantee, will now be
discussed within this framework. The restructuring proposal will
also be discussed with holders of Perpetual Deeply Subordinated
Notes (TSSDI) within the framework of this same procedure.
In the context of this receivership, BOURBON
will pay particular attention to the positive outcome of
negotiations with its financial partners in order to be able to
operate in a stabilized context that would result from a financial
restructuring that is fair to all and in the interest of the
company and its employees.
The listing of all securities issued by BOURBON
Corporation will resume on July 26 at market opening.
About the reorganization
proceedings
The reorganization proceedings are a collective
procedure that freezes the liabilities existing at the beginning of
the procedure during the observation period which can last up to 18
months. The purpose of this procedure is to enable the debtor to
present a plan for the continuation of his activities by
reorganising his debt - which may be spread over a maximum period
of 10 years - and to ensure his recovery.
ABOUT BOURBON
Among the market leaders in marine services for
offshore oil & gas, BOURBON offers the most demanding oil &
gas companies a wide range of marine services, both surface and
sub-surface, for offshore oil & gas fields and wind farms.
These extensive services rely on a broad range of the
latest-generation vessels and the expertise of more than 8,400
skilled employees. Through its 29 operating subsidiaries the group
provides local services as close as possible to customers and their
operations throughout the world, of the highest standards of
service and safety.
BOURBON provides three operating activities
(Marine & Logistics, Mobility and Subsea Services) and also
protects the French coastline for the French Navy.
In 2018, BOURBON'S revenue came to €689.5
million and the company operated a fleet of 483 vessels.
Placed by ICB (Industry Classification
Benchmark) in the "Oil Services" sector, BOURBON is listed on the
Euronext Paris, Compartment B.
CONTACTS
BOURBON |
Media relations agencyPublicis
Consultants |
Investor Relations, analysts, shareholders |
Vilizara Lazarova |
+33 140 138 607 |
+33 144 824 634 |
investor-relations@bourbon-online.com |
vilizara.lazarova@consultants.publicis.fr |
|
|
Corporate Communication |
|
Christelle Loisel |
|
+33 491 136 732 |
|
christelle.loisel@bourbon-online.com |
|
- bourbon-press-release-2019-25072019