Del Monte Foods, owned by Singapore-listed Del Monte Pacific, files for US bankruptcy
Shares of parent company Del Monte Pacific in Singapore fell 6.25 per cent, or 0.4 cent, to six cents as at 4.19pm on July 2.
NEW YORK – Canned fruit company Del Monte Foods is pursuing a sale as it filed for bankruptcy in the United States, less than a year after executing a controversial debt restructuring.
The firm - which is owned by Singapore-listed Del Monte Pacific - entered a restructuring support agreement with lenders and started voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings to implement its terms, it said on July 1.
The company secured a commitment for US$912.5 million in debtor-in-possession financing, inclusive of $165 million in new funding, from certain existing lenders.
Shares of parent company Del Monte Pacific in Singapore fell 6.25 per cent, or 0.4 cent, to six cents as at 4.19pm on July 2. The company is dual listed on the Philippine stock exchange
A filing with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey states that Del Monte Foods has both liabilities and assets estimated between US$1 billion (S$1.27 billion) and US$10 billion.
The development ends a challenging year for the borrower that saw its parent Del Monte Pacific in June elect to skip a payment to the unit's lenders as part of a lawsuit settlement tied to a controversial debt restructuring.
Del Monte Foods said in its statement that the restructuring support agreement contemplates the company undertaking a going-concern sale process for all or substantially all of its assets. Financing along with cash from ongoing operations is expected to provide sufficient liquidity during the sale process and fund ongoing operations, as it intends to keep serving customers, according to the statement.
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'This is a strategic step forward for Del Monte Foods. After a thorough evaluation of all available options, we determined a court-supervised sale process is the most effective way to accelerate our turnaround and create a stronger and enduring Del Monte Foods,' its chief executive Greg Longstreet said.
Del Monte Foods executed a debt overhaul last year, which became the subject of a lawsuit by left-behind lenders who said the company defaulted on a US$725 million financing agreement when it shifted the assets away from the reach of lenders.
The strategy – known in industry parlance as a drop-down transaction – allowed Del Monte Foods to raise fresh liquidity by borrowing against the transferred assets. The deal also prioritised participating lenders via debt swaps and created different payment priorities. BLOOMBERG
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