Prospect News reports five new defaults for Dec. 10-Dec. 16, S&P four

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Dec. 18 – Prospect News reported five new defaults for the period of Dec. 10 through Dec. 16.

Specifically, Prospect News reported Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings made by Magnum Hunter Resources Corp., Cubic Energy, Inc. and Seaboard Realty LLC, Ultrapetrol (Bahamas) Ltd.’s missed interest payment on its 8 7/8% first-preferred ship mortgage notes due 2021 and loan facilities and Arch Coal, Inc.’s missed interest payment on its 9 7/8% senior notes due 2019, 7% senior notes due 2019 and 7¼% senior notes due 2021.

In addition, Prospect News reported Dolphin Group ASA’s bankruptcy filing. However, Dolphin Group previously defaulted in connection with a Dec. 5 missed interest payment.

Prospect News has reported 177 defaults so far in 2015, including 84 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings, 30 missed interest payments, 10 Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act filings, nine distressed exchanges, seven Chapter 15 bankruptcy filings, five each of bankruptcy filings and missed principal payments, three each of Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings, missed principal and interest payments and administration, two each of reorganizations, insolvencies, liquidations and defaults and one each of Chapter 9 bankruptcy filings, involuntary Chapter 11 filings, arrangements of debt, judicial recovery requests, missed payments, missed interest payments paid within the grace period, schemes of arrangement, Schutzschirmverfahren in Eigenverwaltung, receiver appointments and moratoriums.

Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s reported four new defaults for the week, raising its year-to-date default tally to 107 issuers. S&P said this figure was last surpassed in 2009.

S&P said it lowered its credit rating on Tonon Bioenergia SA to D from CCC- after the company filed for judicial recovery and lowered its corporate credit rating on Magnum Hunter to D from CCC- after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In addition, S&P downgraded Getty Images Inc. to selective default from CC after the company completed a debt exchange of its $234 million 7% senior unsecured notes due 2020 at a 36% discount.

The ratings agency also lowered its corporate credit rating on Abengoa SA to SD from C after it failed to make payments due on its €750 million euro-denominated commercial paper program.

So far in 2015, S&P said 34 of the 107 defaulted entities defaulted because of distressed exchanges, 30 because of missed interest or principal payments, 22 entities upon filing for bankruptcy, 10 as a result of regulatory intervention and one each because of a judicial reorganization, a judicial recovery, an administration appointment and a de facto debt-for-equity swap. The remaining seven defaults are confidential.

Of the defaulters so far this year, S&P said the United States dominates the list with 65 issuers, followed by the emerging markets with 23, Europe with 14 and five in the other developed nations, which include Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand.

© 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.