finally the curtain drops

from The Age 13 March, 2007. 10:41.

Babcock expects to appoint administrator
March 13, 2009 - 10:41AM

New Zealand creditors to investment group Babcock & Brown have voted against a restructuring plan, leaving the firm with no choice but to appoint administrators, a form of bankruptcy.

Administrators run the company on behalf of its creditors, similar to bankruptcy procedures in other countries.

"At this point the board has no choice but to appoint a voluntary administrator,'' a Babcock & Brown spokeswoman said after the vote in Auckland.

Babcock later issued a short statement saying it was taking no action as yet and would make a further announcement later today.

Last month, Babcock & Brown agreed on a debt restructuring deal and the revised business plan with its lenders after lengthy negotiations.

The stock has been on a trading halt since January 8 and the firm has been in talks with its creditors since January 6 when it submitted a proposal on repaying a $150 million short-term debt facility coming due at the end of 2009.

The plan included a possible debt-for-equity swap, and would add no value to shareholders.

Babcock was hoping to restructure the notes so that they would not be repayable in any timeframe, and would only be repayable once cash was available after the repayment of corporate facilities.

The firm had also hoped to have the requirement to pay interest removed, and replaced with a requirement to return 25% per annum once cash was available.

The company had also proposed that all default and trigger events be removed.