Bouchard seeks approval of up to $10.5 million of DIP bridge loans

By Sarah Lizee

Olympia, Wash., Feb. 24 – Bouchard Transportation Co., Inc. is seeking court approval of an amendment to its $60 million in debtor-in-possession financing agreement that would allow the company to obtain up to $10.5 million of DIP bridge loans, according to an emergency motion filed Wednesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The company requested that the lenders agree to extend the additional limited emergency term loans, even though the full availability conditions under the credit agreement have not been satisfied or waived.

The bridge loan period would run through the earlier of March 15 and the closing of an aircraft sale.

The lenders agreed to extend the loans solely to the extent that the additional amounts are deducted from the full availability amount and subject to compliance with certain milestones.

The DIP agent is Hartree Partners, LP, as previously reported.

The term of the facility is 12 months, with an option for lenders to extend it by six months.

Interest is Libor plus 700 basis points, subject to a 1% Libor floor.

The facility includes a 1% structuring fee, payable in kind at closing, a 5% original issue discount, payable in kind on each draw date, and an exit fee of $3 million, subject to a rebate to be agreed upon if the DIP lenders provide the exit financing.

Proceeds will be used to fund the Chapter 11 cases, provide adequate runway to undertake the debtors’ operational restructuring initiatives, and otherwise help unlock the value of the business, including the debtors’ fleet of 50 vessels, the majority of which are outside the prepetition secured lenders’ collateral package.

The DIP facility is primarily secured by a first lien on nine vessels that are unencumbered by funded debt.

Bouchard Transportation is an ocean-going petroleum barge company based in Melville, N.Y. The company filed bankruptcy on Sept. 28, 2020 under Chapter 11 case number 20-34682.

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