Financially-troubled Norwegian offshore vessel owner and operator DOF is filing a petition for reconstruction proceedings with the Hordaland district court after failing to secure approval for a debt restructuring plan.
The restructuring scheme, which involved the conversion of debt into shares was backed by the company’s creditors, bondholders and DOF’s largest shareholder Helge Møgster. However, the “rescue plan” was last month voted down by a large group of minority shareholders, which together control over 30% of DOF.
The proposed deal would have left the current shareholders with 4% of the shares in the new DOF. Bondholders would own around 53%, while the secured lenders would get a share of around 43%.
DOF earlier warned that there were no other available alternatives unless the overdue debt of around NOK23bn (2.36bn) was settled and that in the event of the restructuring through a forced reconstruction and/or bankruptcy in the company, the shareholders would end up with less or no value compared to the proposed deal.
“The board of directors is of the view that there is no other available solution that ensures the continued operations in the Group than the agreed restructuring,” DOF said in a regulatory filing, adding that its board has yet to receive any viable alternative from the minority shareholders.
DOF added it had transferred the majority of its business, assets and contractual liabilities to its subsidiary DOF Services “to secure the continued operations” throughout the reconstruction process and in the event of a subsequent bankruptcy in the company.
