Singapore’s Marco Polo Marine gets holder backing to amend 5¾% notes

By Susanna Moon

Chicago, Nov. 15 – Marco Polo Marine Ltd. said it secured the needed votes for waivers under its S$50 million 5¾% notes originally due 2016.

At the meeting held Wednesday, there were noteholders representing S$39.25 million principal amount, or 78.5%, of the outstanding notes.

Of the 157 votes, 141 votes, or 89.81%, were cast in favor of the extraordinary resolution, according to a company announcement.

As announced Oct. 24, the issuer was soliciting consents to obtain a waiver for any non-compliance or event of default under the notes as well as to ask for amendments to include a restructuring redemption option.

Specifically, the issuer was looking to add an option to redeem all of the notes at any time before Jan. 31 at a restructuring redemption amount, payable partially in cash of S$35,868 and partially in the form of 1,024,800 noteholders restructuring shares at an issue price of S$0.035 per share, according to a previous notice.

The deadline for sending voting instructions was 11 p.m. ET on Nov. 14.

The bondholder meeting was held in Singapore.

“This is an important first step towards the successful conclusion of the debt restructuring exercise,” Sean Lee Yun Feng, chief executive officer of Marco Polo, said in the press release. “Having weathered the sectorial storms, the company is now stronger and better fortified for the future.”

Added David Gerald, president and CEO of Securities Investors Association (Singapore), “I must applaud Sean for his dogged persistence to achieve this. This is a good example of all stakeholders working together to salvage a good company. I am particularly pleased that noteholders have decided to row together with financial institutions, creditors and strategic investors to give Marco Polo Marine a new lease of life.”

In order to form a quorum, there needed to be two or more persons representing 75% of the outstanding notes. To pass, the measure required at least 75% of the votes cast.

Shareholder approval will be required for the debt restructuring at an upcoming meeting.

As background for the solicitation, the company cited the “steep decline” of oil prices and a business that is cyclical and seasonal in nature.

The market conditions are improving but is expected to remain “challenging,” the company said in the previous release.

As of June 30, the group’s total debt was about S$260.8 million, comprising about S$250 million of secured debt and S$10.8 million of unsecured debt. The issuer also has “contingent liabilities” for the guarantees provided for the majority of the loans taken on by the group companies.

The issuer said it holding talks with a group of investors to raise about S$50 million to $60 million, which requires the company to undergo the proposed restructuring.

As announced in October 2016, holders had approved restructuring the 5¾% notes to push out the maturity for three more years until Oct. 18, 2019.

In return, the company agreed to pay another 1.5% interest per year on the notes and to provide security in the form of a second ranking mortgage over the group’s shipyard land in Batam, Indonesia.

The Singapore-based marine logistics group provides ship chartering, ship building and conversion, repair and maintenance services.

© 2015 Prospect News.
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