Hercules Offshore Inc. plans to put itself into bankruptcy next month in a creditor-supported deal that would wipe out all of its $1.2 billion of debt.
The offshore drilling rig owner grappling with a cash crunch after oil prices plunged entered a pact with more than 67% of its junior-ranked bondholders that would transfer the company’s ownership to them in exchange for canceling its borrowings, according to a Wednesday regulatory filing. The restructuring support agreement requires Houston-based Hercules to file for bankruptcy by July 8.
Investors of six sets of unsecured and convertible notes would trade their holdings for 96.9 percent of new common stock in a reorganized Hercules, according to the filing. The company’s existing equity holders would see their stake reduced to 3.1%.
“The new capital structure will provide a better foundation for Hercules to meet the challenges in the global offshore drilling market,” John T. Rynd, chief executive officer, said in a statement Wednesday.
New Financing
The company plans to issue $450 million of new borrowings when it emerges from bankruptcy to fund the remaining cost of constructing a new drilling rig, the filing shows. The first- lien loan would pay 9.5 percentage points more than the London interbank offered rate and mature in 4.5 years. The debt would be issued at 97% of face value and receive backstop support from some noteholders who signed the restructuring agreement.
Craig Muirhead, a spokesman for Hercules, didn’t immediately respond to telephone and e-mail messages Wednesday seeking comment after normal business hours.
Two-thirds of the holders of the company’s 10.25% notes due 2019, 8.75% bonds maturing in 2021, 7.5% notes due 2021 and 6.75% notes due 2022 signed the pact, according to the filing.
Hercules’s 10.25% notes fell 1 cent June 17 to 32 cents on the dollar at 1:58 p.m. in New York, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Shares fell 64.7% to 24 cents at 9:30 a.m. in New York.
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