Headlines

Creditors of Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Marine Services (GMS) are close to hiring an adviser to help them renegotiate debt terms, two sources familiar with the matter said, Reuters reported. London-listed GMS, which provides support vessels for offshore oil and gas and other energy installations, has been hurt by a downturn in the oil and gas services industry after a slump in oil prices in recent years reduced demand.

Poland’s government has proposed the country’s first balanced central government budget in three decades, as the ruling Law and Justice party tries to boost its reputation for economic management ahead of October’s parliamentary election, the Financial Times reported. Since coming to power in 2015, the socially conservative Law and Justice has sharply boosted welfare spending, with handouts to pensioners and families playing a key role in cementing support for the party among older and less well-off Poles.

French media mogul Arnaud Lagardère amassed more than €200m of debt at his private holding company, more than the current value of his shares in the publicly traded conglomerate that bears his name, according to unpublished accounts seen by the Financial Times.

The largest shareholder in Carpetright has agreed to take on the company’s substantial debt pile and open talks over long-term funding, providing a degree of certainty to the troubled UK flooring retailer as it pushes to turn itself round, the Financial Times reported. Carpetright said on Tuesday that Meditor, a private investment vehicle controlled by former hedge fund manager Talal Shakerchi, would purchase its £40.7m revolving credit facility from its current lenders AIB and NatWest. The company was not involved in the talks between Meditor and the lending banks.

Turkish billionaire Ferit Sahenk is ready to sell more of his assets as part of an ongoing effort to satisfy a debt-restructuring deal struck with banks earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported. Sahenk’s Dogus Holding AS could dispose of investments worth as much as 800 million euros ($890 million), he said in an interview in Istanbul late on Monday.

China’s young leasing market offers plenty of opportunity for domestic and foreign lessors but also plenty of risk, reflected in the growing number of lawsuits over missed payments from cash-strapped local governments, the Financial Times reported.

Avianca Holdings SA plunged to a record low after the Colombia-based airline’s chairman was seen in a leaked internal video telling employees that the company is “bankrupt,” Bloomberg News reported. The stock dropped as much as 15% in Bogota trading before paring losses. Kriete was trying to reiterate to employees the urgency of getting back to profitability, said Carlos Enrique Rodriguez, head of equity research at Bogota-based brokerage Ultraserfinco.

Mozambique plans to conclude restructuring its dollar bonds by the end of September, almost three years after first announcing the proposal, Bloomberg News reported. The southeast African nation asked holders of $727 million of debt due 2023 to exchange it for $900 million of notes maturing five years later. That’s mainly because the government expects it will have started earning revenue from Africa’s largest liquefied-natural-gas project, and won’t have difficulty in repaying debts.

The NCLT has initiated insolvency proceedings against NCR-based real estate firm Raheja Developers after admitting a plea filed by one of its flat buyers. A two-member Principal bench, headed by President Justice M M Kumar, has appointed an interim resolution professional (IRP) to take over the management of the company, The Economic Times reported.

Gayle Killilea’s lawyer is asking the judge in her husband Sean Dunne’s American bankruptcy trial to block an order from a different court compelling Killilea’s financial adviser to provide details of the couple’s finances, including the transfer and sale of Walford – once Ireland’s most expensive home, The Irish Times reported. Trustee attorney Timothy Miltenberger said his client wants to examine Dublin accountant James Ryan to identify assets to pay the $18.1 million (€16.2 million) a jury ordered Ms Killilea to pay the trustee in June.