Rickmers to hold creditors’ meeting for €275 million 8 7/8% bonds

By Mary Katherine Stinson

Lexington, Ky., Dec. 22 – Rickmers Holding AG, formerly Rickmers Holding GmbH & Cie. KG, issued an invitation for holders of its €275 million 8 7/8% bonds 2013/18 (ISIN: DE000A1TNA39) to attend a creditors’ meeting, according to multiple notices.

The meeting will be held at 8 a.m. ET on Jan. 10 at the Literaturhaus Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany.

The conveners were authorized to organize the meeting by a resolution of the Hamburg District Court dated Oct. 27 in order to elect a joint representative and vote on proposed resolutions.

The company stated that an election of a new joint representative six years after the opening of insolvency proceedings is necessary because of the “nature and conduct” of the company that was elected to the position on June 1, 2017.

That company, One Square Advisory Services GmbH (OSAS), was allegedly elected illegitimately with votes that were not entitled to vote because they were controlled by the sole shareholder and chairman of the supervisory board, Bertram Rickmers, according to the release.

Additionally, OSAS allegedly failed to inform creditors of the insolvency administrator’s reports or its own activities since 2019, the news release said.

The insolvency administrator has sued Mr. Rickmers citing significant shareholder withdrawals and other matters. These legal matters are ongoing and still working their way through the courts.

Finally, OSAS ceased to exist in 2020 as it transferred all its assets to a company under Swiss law known as One Square Advisory Services Sarl (OSAS-Switzerland). However, offices such as the position of joint representative are not transferred as a part of the process, leaving the position vacant.

Although OSAS-Switzerland claimed it was the legal successor to OSAS, the Hamburg District Court ruled otherwise on Oct. 27.

A claim of €269 million has been established in favor of the bondholders in the insolvency table and a representative authorized to receive future distributions is required. A joint representative is also critical to uphold the interests of the bondholders against the insolvency administrator, who is solely committed to the creditors’ interest, the release noted.

The creditors’ meeting requires 50% participation at the first attempt. If the meeting is not quorate, a second meeting will be convened at an additional cost.

The notice urged bondholders to seek representation from the SdK, the Schutzgemeinschaft der Kapitalanleger e.V.

With main offices in Hamburg and Singapore, Rickmers is an international service provider in the maritime transport sector and a containership owner.

© 2015 Prospect News.
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