Group Bourbon principal Jacques de Chateauvieux is proposing an alternative plan to stop banks taking over the company.
The French OSV giant has now revealed details of the two rival refinancing schemes as the board considers which to adopt.
The company, hit by the OSV downturn, said its main lenders and vessel lessors, with 75% of its debt, are proposing to inject €120m ($135m) of new money in the form of debt and a reduction of existing debt of more than €1.4bn through a conversion into stock.
This would result in 93% of the group's capital being held by the banks.
The offer is valid until 27 June.
Main shareholder de Chateauvieux and financial partners are offering €80m in fresh debt and a €164m loan, which would make it possible to pay off lenders who want out.
"The proposed business model answers the new market expectations while relying on the historical Bourbon partners network and provides a reimbursement of the debts based on the free cash flow generated by each vessel," Bourbon said.
This plan does not involve any dilution for shareholders.
Board neutral
The board is neutral so far. Both schemes need the agreement of all parties.
"The board's main goals remain to guarantee a sustainable level of debt, to receive new money to support the group's growth, and a stable shareholders structure that has the trust of Bourbon partners and teams," the company said.
Management will continue negotiations in order to obtain final and binding conditions for the two offers, and extend their validity.
In January, Bourbon renewed a general waiver with the majority of its debt holders, allowing the company to suspend debt repayments.
The original waiver was finalised with Bourbon’s lenders in April 2018 to delay payments for 12 months.
The company’s outstanding loans and mounting losses stood at around €1.12bn in January.
Bourbon said in November it was actively seeking new financial partners to deploy its strategic plan and develop its business, stating “all solutions are being considered”.
The group is worth $1.1bn and owns 251 ships, according to VesselsValue (VV).
A number of older units have been sold off this year.
Based on AIS data, VV estimates 27% of the fleet is not being utilised, having not signalled for eight or more weeks.
