Headlines

Three C Homes (3C) Private Limited, the Delhi NCR based real estate developer once sought after by multiple private equity investors, is headed for liquidation after the bankruptcy tribunal rejected a proposed resolution offer, which was less than 20% of the liquidation value, VCCircle.com reported. The bankruptcy proceedings have been underway at the New Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) since September 2019, on a plea by Arun Kumar Sinha, one of the home buyers for the company’s Lotus City project in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

Satellite operator Intelsat SA said on Friday it has filed a restructuring plan backed by some of its creditors, in a bid to reduce debt and emerge from bankruptcy in the second half of the year, Reuters reported. The plan aims to reduce debt by more than half to $7 billion and has the support of holders of about $3.8 billion of its debt, the company said. It has sought a hearing on Mar. 17 for a court approval to solicit votes on the plan.

An insolvency procedure widely used on the high street has spread to the high seas as Harding Retail, which operates boutiques on cruise ships, has resorted to a company voluntary arrangement to cut its debt, the Financial Times reported. Harding, which was founded in 1930, has had no revenue for 10 months after the US government effectively shut down the $150bn cruise industry by issuing a no-sail order in March last year. It operates 250 boutiques on more than 80 vessels.

Deutsche Bank AG has scrapped its plan to sell hundreds of millions of euros of debt for German pharmaceutical company Gruenenthal GmbH due to a lack of interest from investors, Bloomberg News reported. The loan was intended to replace some of the company’s existing financing. The family-owned business, which makes painkillers including opioid drugs such as Tramadol, had unsecured term loans and Schuldschein worth 935 million euros ($1.13 billion) due to mature this year, Bloomberg data show.

Argentina’s state-owned oil producer looks set to avoid a hard default after creditors signed on to swap some of their bonds due next month and the central bank agreed to provide the company with the dollars it needs to pay back the remainder, Bloomberg News reported. YPF SA bondholders will exchange almost 60% of the $413 million note due in March, according to a company statement.

Mexico’s second-largest movie theater chain, Grupo Cinemex SA, is closing its cinemas indefinitely and is working with banks to restructure at least $230 million in debt, Bloomberg News reported. Cinemex, owned by the family that controls copper miner Grupo Mexico, is closing in on a deal with banks including Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, HSBC Holdings Plc, Banco Santander SA and Bank of Nova Scotia.

The new owners of Paperchase chose not to refer their acquisition to a scheme that reviews the sale of failed companies’ assets to connected parties, the London Times reported. Permira Debt Managers, the credit arm of the eponymous private equity firm and a secured creditor to Paperchase, the stationer that collapsed last month, acquired the key assets of the business via a pre-pack administration.

Asked how much more the Portuguese government expects to spend on TAP this year, Joao Leao told Sunday’s Jornal de Negocios: “That is still being analysed,” Reuters reported. “The situation of TAP is very demanding ... that amount may have to be reconsidered because at the moment the pandemic is having a much stronger impact than expected,” Leao said. In December, a government plan to rescue TAP proposed 2,000 job cuts by 2022 and pay cuts of up to 25%, while the airline would need around 2 billion euros in extra funds with state guarantees to cover its financing needs until 2024.

Debt-laden Air Namibia, which cancelled all flights earlier on Thursday, has been placed into voluntary liquidation, Finance Minister Iipumbu Shiimi said, calling the state-owned airline “unsustainable,” Reuters reported. Government said that it had considered all other options, which included potential investment from other airlines and turnaround strategies, before it decided to file for liquidation.

Mexico’s central bank unanimously voted to cut its key interest rate to the lowest point since mid-2016, leading economists to forecast more easing ahead as the country desperately needs stimulus, Bloomberg News reported. Banco de Mexico, led by Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon, chopped borrowing costs by a quarter point to 4% on Thursday, after core inflation remained stable in January, despite overall price increases accelerating above expectations. The cut was predicted by 16 of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The remaining six expected a hold.