Montco Offshore cancels auction; Seacor will serve as plan sponsor

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Aug. 28 – Montco Offshore, Inc. announced that stalking horse bidder Seacor Liftboat Holdings, LLC submitted the only qualified bid to sponsor its Chapter 11 plan.

According to a notice filed Monday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, the Aug. 29 auction for selection of a plan sponsor has been cancelled.

Montco said a plan of reorganization will be proposed and filed with the court with Seacor serving as the plan sponsor.

As previously reported, Seacor and Montco will jointly form and capitalize a new joint venture company by contributing liftboat vessels and other related assets to the joint venture, as well as requiring the joint venture to assume operating liabilities and debt associated with the liftboat vessels and related assets.

The joint venture will consolidate 13 liftboat vessels currently operated by a subsidiary of Seacor Marine, six liftboat vessels currently operated by Montco and two liftboat vessels currently operated by an existing joint venture between affiliates of each of the companies.

The Seacor/Montco joint venture will assume roughly $130 million of debt from Montco’s credit facilities, which, apart from a guarantee of interest payments for two years after the closing of the transactions, will be non-recourse to Seacor Marine.

In addition, the joint venture will assume about $76 million of debt currently reflected on Seacor Marine Holdings Inc.’s financial statements. Seacor Marine is expected to be the majority owner of the equity interests in the joint venture.

Houston-based Montco operates lift boats for the offshore energy industry. The company filed bankruptcy on March 17 under Chapter 11 case number 17-31646.

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