After years of financial restructuring, the French shipping company Bourbon – once the market leader in the offshore supply vessel segment – now sees itself on the shore of salvation.
According to the group, the commercial court in Marseille has approved an agreement on a debt relief and a recapitalization agreement for the holding company SPP (Société Phocéenne de Participation).
SPP was originally founded as a vehicle for Bourbon’s creditor banks to take over the struggling offshore shipping company. However, SPP itself later encountered financial difficulties, mainly due to ongoing obligations to Bourbon’s Chinese lenders.
According to Bourbon, the approval of the agreement between banks and investors has now cleared the way for the restructuring to be completed by the end of this year.
The restructuring plan reportedly includes a reduction of the debt burden to one and a half times the shipping company’s gross profit (EBITDA) and the provision of fresh equity. The latter comes from private equity investors Davidson Kempner Capital Management and Fortress Investment Group. Both had already bought into SPP in the previous year and will in future be the main owners of SPP and thus also of Bourbon, according to reports.
The French offshore shipping company, headquartered in Marseille, was restructured in 2019 following a market slump in 2015 after the Chinese leasing company ICBC called in debts amounting to USD 800 million. Company founder and main shareholder Jacques de Chateauvieux had to withdraw, and the banks took over the helm at Bourbon in 2020.
With over 200 vessels and 5,800 employees in 35 countries, the group remains one of the leading players in the offshore service sector for the oil and gas and wind energy industries.
