Knight Energy files for Chapter 11 as part of restructuring exploration

BY Fraser Tennant

In an attempt to improve its balance sheet and liquidity position, Knight Energy Holdings, LLC and its operating affiliates (including Knight Oil Tools) have voluntarily filed for Chapter 11, as well as entering into a financial restructuring support agreement.

The agreement, made in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Lafayette Division, is supported by secured lenders and will improve Knight Energy’s balance sheet by equitising over $175m of its existing obligations and provide for significant new capital to substantially boost its liquidity position through an exit financing facility.

Knight Energy has stated that it will continue to operate in the ordinary course of business during the Chapter 11 and restructuring proceedings and has filed various ‘first day’ motions seeking approval of relief – a $14.5m debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing facility – so as to operate with minimal impact or interruption to its valued employees, customers, vendors and other important parties.

One of the largest, privately-owned oilfield rental tool companies in the world, Knight Energy supplies a wide offering of rental equipment and services for drilling, completion and well control activities - serving a diverse base of oil and natural gas exploration & production (E&P) operators. The company was founded in 1972 by Eddy Knight and is owned today by second-generation family members.

“Like many leading oil and gas companies, we have been affected by the ongoing downturn in the market,” said the Knight family in a statement. “The company has spent considerable time since then focusing on how to best serve our customers, employees, and to maintain strong relations with our vendors and employees. In order to best position our company for the future, we felt that a financial restructuring was necessary and worked with our stakeholders to achieve a consensual plan to deleverage the company and position Knight and our employees for success.”

Heller Draper is acting as lead restructuring counsel during the Chapter 11 restructuring proceedings, with a representative from Opportune serving as Knight Energy’s chief restructuring officer. Farlie Turner has served as Knight Energy’s financial adviser.

Confident that requested relief will be granted and the company will have ample liquidity to support the business during the Chapter 11 and restructuring process, the Knight family concluded: “Together we have developed a long term strategic plan that will allow Knight to continue to be a market leader.”

News: Knight Oil Tools’ Parent Company Files For Bankruptcy

US business bankruptcies soar in Q2 2017, confirms new report

BY Fraser Tennant

US business bankruptcy activity in 2017 is continuing on an trend upward, with Q2 experiencing a 10 percent increase in filings over Q1 according to new data compiled by BankruptcyData.com.

In ‘Quarterly Report of Business Bankruptcy Filings for the Period Ending June 30, 2017’, the business bankruptcy information provider analyses Q2 and year-to-date (YTD) 2017 business bankruptcy activity and breaks down the filings by various factors, such as industry, sales volume, company size, creditor, liabilities, assets, employees, creditors and public and private filings

Reflecting on a fluctuating bankruptcy landscape, the report notes that the 2017 YTD business bankruptcy filing figure increased by 1 percent compared to the first six months of 2016, but rose 35 percent compared to the first six months of 2015. Small businesses are also shown to be making up the lion's share of all business bankruptcy filings for 2017. Companies with sales of $500,000 or less generated 56 percent of all filings during Q2 and 61 percent YTD.

In addition, although overall bankruptcy activity is rising, public company bankruptcies are down 30 percent so far in 2017; 43 public companies having filed for bankruptcy in the first six months of 2017, compared to 61 over the same period in 2016.

In terms of industry hotspots, despite a lot of attention being paid to the bankruptcy woes of the retail industry in 2017 (more than 300 retailers have filed for Chapter 11 so far this year), it is actually the energy sector that has continued to dominate, with 16 of 43 (37 percent) of public company bankruptcies coming from the oil & gas, mining and other energy sectors. Turning to location hotspots, Texas overtook New York as the state generating the highest percentage of overall business bankruptcies during Q2 2017.

“2017's US Bankruptcy Court business filing activity is shaping up as we expected, with counts at or slightly above the 2016 levels but significantly above 2015 and earlier,” states the BankruptcyData.com report. “The energy sector, though slowing down, is not out of the woods yet. We also expect retail bankruptcy levels to keep increasing as consumers continue to opt for online over brick-and-mortar purchases in this highly competitive sector that is already besieged by liquidity issues, ailing credit ratings, unfavourable borrowing terms and more.”

Against a dramatically changing corporate landscape, US business bankruptcy activity is continuing to escalate; with many more companies likely to be navigating the filing process before 2017 comes to an end.

Report: Quarterly Report of Business Bankruptcy Filings for the Period Ending June 30, 2017

Hanjin Shipping files for Chapter 15 protection

BY Richard Summerfield

South Korean shipping firm Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in the US, in an attempt to stop the company’s creditors seizing its fleet of vessels.

Hanjin, the seventh biggest shipping company in the world, filed for protection on Friday in a court in New Jersey after receiving word that its creditor banks had decided to end the financial support they were providing the company. The creditors also rejected Hanjin’s proposed restructuring deal.

The $896m worth of financial assistance Hanjin had received from its creditors had proved insufficient as the company tried to stay afloat amid volatility in the global shipping industry.

Overcapacity has had a significant impact on shipping companies the world over. In the days running up to its US filing, the company also moved to protect its assets elsewhere, filing for receivership in South Korea on Wednesday. In an attempt to secure legal protection for its ships, Hanjin has plans to pursue legal action in around 10 countries over the course of this week and later expand that to 43 jurisdictions.

As a result of the company’s bankruptcy filings, Hanjin’s vessels have been denied access to ports at a variety of locations. The number of ships that have been denied port access around the world, including in the US, has risen to 79, comprising 61 container ships and 18 bulk carriers, according to South Korea’s financial regulator. That figure includes one vessel seized in Singapore by a creditor, a company spokeswoman said. Hanjin has 141 ships, 128 of which are currently operating. In China, Japan, Singapore and India ,the company has seen 45 vessels denied access to ports. Several of Hanjin’s vessels have also been seized by creditors, including state-run Korea Development Bank.

Hanjin’s ships are currently carrying cargo worth $14.5bn belonging to some 8300 cargo owners, according to the Korea International Trade Association. The bankruptcy of a company of Hanjin’s status is notable, as it accounts for 7.8 percent of trans-Pacific trade volume for the US market. The company’s collapse marks the largest ever bankruptcy filing for a container shipper.

Hanjin’s stock has fallen around 34 percent since the company’s creditors said they were no longer supporting the firm. Given that the company’s collapse has coincided with the high seasonal demand for the shipping industry ahead of the year-end holidays, Hanjin’s bankruptcy is likely to cause a ripple effect throughout the global supply chain, and in the US retail space.

News: Hanjin Shipping filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection: WSJ

Corporate bankruptcies on the up

BY Richard Summerfield

Following a period of relative calm in the corporate bankruptcy world, from 2010 onwards when corporate insolvencies flattened and then fell into decline, more and more companies now appear to be experiencing distress.

With the global economic crisis and recession of 2008 slowly disappearing from view, it seemed as if businesses were on better, more stable footing. However, there has been a recent resurgence in the number of corporate bankruptcies. Filings rose again in the second quarter of 2016, according to BankruptcyData.com's 'Q2 2016 Business Bankruptcy Filing Report'.

The report notes that the number of businesses filing for bankruptcy protection jumped 9 percent in the second quarter of the year compared to Q1. Equally, there was a 25 percent year-on-year climb compared to Q2 2015, up 7 percent compared to Q2 2014.

Up to June 2016, there has been an increase of 23 percent compared with the same period last year and a 4 percent jump on the same period in 2014. Furthermore, the average number of filings per day figure recorded in Q2 2016 is the highest since 2013.

Much of the financial difficulty experienced by public companies in the US can be attributed to the troubled and volatile energy sector. Energy focused companies accounted for the majority of public filings recorded in the first half of the year – 10 of the largest 15 bankruptcies came from the energy space. Over 80 percent of the $86bn in assets entering bankruptcy were from energy-related companies. In addition to a number of oil & gas companies filing for Chapter 11, every large publicly-traded pure-play coal company has now filed for bankruptcy.

The report suggests that the flow of companies applying for Chapter 11 protection is likely to continue, with more difficulty expected in the energy space. Elsewhere, the amount of high-yield debt raised during the 2009-2015 credit cycle was considerable. This could easily contribute to a new spike in bankruptcy filings in the future.

Report: Q2 2016 Business Bankruptcy Filing Report

Energy XXI files for Chapter 11

BY Richard Summerfield

Energy XXI has become the latest oil & gas producer in the US to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to a statement, the company hopes to eliminate more than $2.8bn worth of debt during its restructuring.

Court documents filed in Houston, Texas note that prior to the filing the company had agreed a deal to secure a $1.45bn debt-for-equity swap with a group of its bondholders.

Energy XXI, which employs around 300 people, will continue to honour employee and vendor payments as it has sufficient liquidity of around $180m of cash on hand. Energy XXI will also be able to utilise funds generated from ongoing operations to support the business in the ordinary course during the financial restructuring process.

Much like many of its rivals, Energy XXI has been struggling to keep its head above water for some time; since the collapse of crude oil prices, it has been forced to slash its budget by almost half, reduce costs, cut its workforce from nearly 500 last year, and divest assets. However, these measures appear to have been insufficient. The price of crude has hovered around $40 for some time, and, according to data from Reuters, it needs to be at least $60 for Energy XXI to break even.

In March the company announced that it was delaying an interest payment due on debt of one of its subsidiaries, a decision that began a 30 day grace period. However, discussions between the company and a number of its major unsecured creditors are believed to have begun in summer 2015. At the end of February, the company said it had been warned it could be delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market as a result of ongoing financial difficulties.

In order to execute the Chapter 11 restructuring, Energy XXI entered into a restructuring support agreement with holders of more than 63 percent of the company’s secured second lien 11.0 percent notes. The agreement will facilitate the removal of all of the company’s debt other than its first lien reserve based loan facility.

Energy XXI must file a reorganisation plan by 16 May and have it approved by the judge overseeing the case by 8 August.

News: Energy XXI Files for Bankruptcy After $5 Billion Expansion