Prospect News reports five new defaults for Jan. 14-Jan. 20, S&P four

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Jan. 22 – Prospect News reported five new defaults for the period of Jan. 14 through Jan. 20.

Specifically, Prospect News reported Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings made by Primorsk International Shipping Ltd. and Park Place of Elmhurst Project, a judicial management request made by Mercator Lines (Singapore) Ltd. and delayed payments on Paragon Offshore plc’s 6¾% senior notes due 2022 and Verso Paper Holdings LLC’s 11¾% secured notes due 2019 and NewPage Corp. credit agreement.

On Jan. 21, Prospect News reported that Horsehead Holding Corp. skipped making a $1.9 million interest payment due Jan. 4 on its 3.8% convertible senior notes due 2017 and is exercising a 30-day grace period until Feb. 3.

Prospect News has reported 19 defaults so far for 2016, including six missed interest payments, five Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings, three missed principal and interest payments and one each of administrations, insolvencies, Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings, Chapter 15 bankruptcy filings and judicial management requests.

Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s reported four new defaults for the week, increasing its year-to-date default tally to five.

S&P said it lowered its corporate credit rating on Ultrapetrol (Bahamas) Ltd. to D from CCC after the issuer announced that it would not pay interest and principal on some of its loans, as well as interest on its notes, and lowered the corporate credit rating on Horsehead to SD from CCC after the company elected to exercise the interest payment grace period on its convertible senior notes.

In addition, S&P said it lowered its corporate credit rating on Slap Shot Holdings Corp. and its subsidiaries, which do business as The Sports Authority, to D from B- after the company missed the scheduled interest payment on its senior subordinated notes, also triggering a cross-default on its term loan facility.

Finally, the ratings agency said it lowered its long-term corporate credit and issue-level ratings on Pacific Exploration and Production Corp. to D from CC, reflecting the firm’s failure to make interest payment on its notes.

Of the five defaulting issuers so far in 2016, S&P said four defaulted because of missed interest payments and because of missed principal and interest payments.

S&P said three of the five 2016 defaulted issuers are based in the United States, one is in the emerging markets, and one is in the other developed region, which includes Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand.

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