A French court has extended a deadline for potential buyers to lodge bids for restructuring OSV giant Bourbon.
The Jacques de Chateauvieux-controlled company is already the subject of a takeover offer from its lenders.
It said on Thursday that bidders now have until 20 November to make offers for its two holding companies, Bourbon Maritime and Bourbon Corporation.
In July, Bourbon said it was seeking a reorganisation process in court after China's ICBC Leasing signalled it would demand repayment of its debts.
The owner added that the Chinese company had sent a series of letters on 18 July expressing its intention to request settlement of all "rental payments" up to 2026, under a guarantee awarded to it by Bourbon.
Bourbon said that because it was not in a "state of cessation of payments", it had requested a safeguard procedure in court.
But the commercial court of Marseilles rejected this bid, considering that the guarantees activated by the Chinese company were proof that Bourbon was "insolvent" as of 24 July.
Bourbon then made the reorganisation request.
In June, Bourbon said it was working on securing €80m ($88.6m) in new debt and a €164m loan to pay off lenders looking to exit.
Revenue down from second quarter
Revenue for the third quarter was €177.7m, down 3.2% from the second three months.
Fleet rationalisation continued, it said, as it continued to return laid-up ships to service and sold or scrapped non-strategic vessels.
It reactivated seven units in its Maritime & Logistics division.
Average utilisation decreased slightly to 53.8% quarter-on-quarter, affected by planned maintenance and the re-allocation of vessels to "strategic zones," it added.
Day rates fell by 1.7%, impacted by the subsea segment, and in particular, the end of two long-term charter contracts in India.
"The market recovery is a reality, but our reactivation efforts and the maintenance of series-built vessels have impacted utilisation rates and revenue," CEO Gael Bodenes.
"In a particularly difficult context for the company, our teams have been intensely mobilised to maintain the service provided to customers."
