Creditors of Giuseppe Bottiglieri Shipping Co (GBSC) have until the end of the month to vote on a restructuring plan that is expected to keep the operations of the bulker and tanker owner in Naples.

Managing director Mariella Bottiglieri is confident that creditors will agree to the proposal with Bain Capital Credit, following a decision by a court in Naples to reject a rival plan that she believes would have led to liquidation of the company, as TradeWinds reported earlier this week.

“This is the only plan that is officially certified and admitted by the tribunal. There is only one plan on the table,” she told TradeWinds.

The Bottiglieri family last month faced an unexpected challenge to their 160 years in the shipping business with a surprise bid by Lighthouse, jointly controlled by Petros Pappas-led Oceanbulk Maritime and Raffaele Zagari-led Augustea Holdings, to present their own restructuring plan to the court.

But on 2 February, the Neapolitan court rejected the rival proposal, which Bottiglieri alleged was “simply a liquidation plan which did not give any upfront payment”.

“Whereas Bain [Capital] is giving an upfront payment, which is very consistent. And is keeping the company working, which means that 340 people are going to keep their jobs.”

Fleet purchase proposal

Lighthouse is said to have submitted a proposal to acquire the entire fleet of GBSC comprising 11 post-panamax bulkers, a capesize and four product tankers. Zagari, whose offices are in Naples and who together with Pappas had two years ago taken control of what was left of the bankrupt Deiulemar fleet, could not be reached for comment.

In a statement this week, the Bottiglieri family said that the court had rejected the hostile proposal on the grounds that “it had numerous points of non-admissibility, hence it did not deserve to be put in front of the creditors”. Lighthouse is understood to have proposed a plan to buy up credits of $49.4m and had requested the right to charter vessels to other companies controlled by Pappas/Zagari company.

“The tribunal understood that the Zagari/Pappas proposal was a mere liquidation plan which simply did not give any upfront payment nor could it guarantee any future recovery,” the Bottiglieri statement said.

Under the restructuring proposal that Bottiglieri has tabled with Bain Capital, around $120m could be used to significantly repay bank creditors and embark on an industrial re-launch of GBSC, the company said.

Bottiglieri herself has been a long-time critic of private equity and refers to “the colonisation of Italian shipping by short-term and speculative investors”. But she recognises that shipping finance has changed.

“Not admitting that would be anachronistic,” she said. “[But] it’s important to find a partner who is not looking for liquidation.”