Rickmers Maritime, a Singaporean business trust which owns and operates containerships, has been unable to restructure debts after failing to strike a deal with lead creditors HSH Nordbank from Germany and local DBS Bank and continue operations.
A repayment of US$196.7 million to HSH syndicate was due on March 31, 2017.
HSH had granted trustee-manager until 15 April to present new restructuring proposal.
However, failure to make the date has led to potential investors not supporting an injection of new equity into trust due to challenges in obtaining consent for debt write-offs.
The trust was also unable to make a coupon payment to noteholders in November 2016 and various breaches in loan covenants have “cast material uncertainties on the Trust’s ability to continue as a going concern”, Rickmers said in a statement.
It added: “In light of the aggravated illiquidity and lack of new investors, the Trustee-Manager opines that it is impracticable to continue the Trust and that it shall therefore be wound up.
“The winding up decision is made in light of no other possible alternatives to restructure the liabilities of the Trust with the objective of delivering value on an accelerated basis to all creditors to avoid uncertainties and risks involved in a protracted winding up process.
“The Trustee-Manager is in advanced discussions with a potential buyer for the Trust’s assets which may allow the Trust to distribute cash recoveries upfront to unsecured creditors.
“While the parties are in advanced discussions, no deal has been finalized at this stage.”
