Prospect News reports five new defaults for Feb. 26-March 4, S&P three

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, March 6 – Prospect News reported five new defaults for the period of Feb. 26 through March 4.

Specifically, Prospect News reported American Eagle Energy Corp.’s missed interest payment on its bonds sold in August 2014, Please Touch Museum’s missed interest payment on its series 2006 Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development revenue bonds, Farms of New Kent Community Development Authority’s missed interest payment on its 2006 bond, BPZ Resources, Inc.’s missed principal and interest payments on its 6.5% convertible notes due March 1, 2015 and Wisbech Pineapple plc’s missed principal payment on its floating-rate authorizing secured notes due 2019.

In addition, Prospect News reported Cal Dive International, Inc.’s March 3 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and a distressed exchange made by Seabird Exploration. However, Cal Dive and Seabird both previously defaulted in connection with missed interest payments.

Prospect News has reported 29 defaults so far in 2015, including 10 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings, seven missed interest payments, five Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act filings, two each of distressed exchanges and missed principal and interest payments and one each of bankruptcy filings, Chapter 15 bankruptcy filings and missed principal payments.

Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s reported three global corporate defaults for the week, bringing its year-to-date default tally to 19.

Specifically, S&P lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on Norske Skogindustrier ASA following the company’s announcement that it had completed a debt exchange of its senior unsecured notes, which is tantamount to default.

The second default came when S&P downgraded American Eagle Energy Corp. to D from CCC+ after it missed an interest payment due March 2 on its senior secured notes due 2019.

S&P said the third default came when it lowered the long-term corporate credit rating on BPZ Resources to D from CCC+ after the company announced it would use the grace period for payment of principal and interest due March 1.

Of the 19 defaults so far in 2015, the agency said eight are based in the United States, six in the emerging markets, four in Europe and the remaining one in the other developed nations, which includes Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand.

So far in 2015, seven of the 19 defaults resulted from missed interest or principal payments, five from distressed exchanges and two each from bankruptcy filings and regulatory intervention. The other three were confidential.

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