Wells Fargo Bank, Raging Capital Management, DNB Bank and several other institutional investors have signed on to back GulfMark Offshore's pre-packaged bankruptcy plan, the shipowner has revealed.
Norway's DNB, one of the Houston-based offshore vessel owner's main secured creditors, has signed a commitment letter providing GulfMark with a $35m loan, according to a filing with the US Securities & Exchange Commission.
The senior secured facility will be provided as part of an amendment to the bank's NOK 600m ($70.8m) revolving credit facility and will serve as debtor-in-possession financing during the Chapter 11 case. Some of GulfMark's will be added as collateral to the loan.
As TradeWinds reported earlier today, GulfMark is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection by Sunday after signing a restructuring agreement with 47% of its bondholders.
Today's SEC filings show that Wells Fargo Bank and mutual fund giant TIAA-CREF have both signed onto the restructuring agreement.
Royal Bank of Scotland, which provided GulfMark with a multicurrency credit facility in 2014, has agreed to extend waivers of defaults until 21 May, the deadline for GulfMark's planned bankruptcy filing.
Raging Capital Management, the William Martin-led, New Jersey-based hedge fund with equity and bond investments in GulFmark, has also signed on.
So too have Canyon Capital Advisors and Solus Alternative Asset Management, two hedge funds that focus on special situations and distressed debt. Also agreeing to the deal is Q5-R5 Trading, which is controlled by Texas private equity firm Q Investments.
All of the investors also agreed to backstop the $125m rights offering contemplated by the restructuring plan.
