Prospect News, S&P each report one new default for Dec. 27 to Jan. 3

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Jan. 4 - Prospect News reported one new default for the period of Dec. 27 through Jan. 3 in the form of Norse Energy Corp. ASA's missed interest payment on its convertible callable bonds due 2015.

Norse's default was the first recorded by Prospect News so far in 2013 after reporting a total of 147 in 2012.

Of the defaults reported by Prospect News in 2012, 83 were Chapter 11 filings, 14 stemmed from missed interest payments, 11 were from distressed exchanges, eight stemmed from missed principal payments, five each resulted from Chapter 15 bankruptcy filings, Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act filings and missed principal and interest payments, three were from administrations, two were from liquidations and one each stemmed from Chapter 9 bankruptcy filings, corporate debt restructuring, examinership, notices of default and acceleration, bankruptcy, reorganization, insolvency, restructuring, missed payment, involuntary Chapter 11 filings and Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings.

Standard & Poor's said it lowered the corporate credit rating on LBI Media Inc. to selective default on Jan. 3, marking the agency's first default of 2013.

S&P said the action took place after LBI Media parent company LBI Media Holdings Inc. and some lenders agreed to a distressed exchange transaction on Dec. 31.

The ratings agency said LBI Media Inc. previously defaulted in October after it missed an interest payment on its senior discount notes.

S&P's global corporate default tally totaled 82 issuers in 2012, surpassing the 2011 tally of 53 issuers and the 2010 tally of 81 issuers.

By region, 47 of the 82 defaulters reported by S&P in 2012 were based in the United States, 22 in the emerging markets, nine in Europe and four in the other developed region, which includes Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand.

S&P said missed payments and bankruptcy filings tied for the top reason for default in 2012, with 23 issuers each. Of the remaining defaults, distressed exchanges accounted for 17, 13 were are confidential, and six entities defaulted for various other reasons.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.