DeepOcean commenced a restructuring process in relation to three UK subsidiaries in its Cable Laying and Trenching business (the CL&T Group), which will enable the CL&T Group to be wound down on a solvent basis.
DeepOcean 1 UK, DeepOcean Subsea Cables and Enshore Subsea have filed a practice statement letter with the High Court in London and distributed a copy of the PSL to all of their known creditors.
The PSL informs creditors of the Plan Companies’ intention to propose restructuring plans to their creditors and the objectives of those plans. The PSL also gives notice to creditors of a court hearing to be held on 15 December 2020 at which the Plan Companies seek the permission of the court to grant an order convening meetings of creditors to vote on the plans, and sets out the composition of the classes of creditors for the purposes of voting on the plans.
This is a specific and focussed restructuring of the CL&T Group and the court process only involves the three mentioned companies.
The process follows an extended period of loss-making operations by the CL&T Group and reflects changes in the industry’s procurement strategies and available installation capacity, as well as a mismatch between the CL&T Group’s contractual commitments and market conditions.
Øyvind Mikaelsen, CEO of DeepOcean said: “Despite our long-term commitment to the cable lay and trenching division, it has been loss-making for some time. We have invested and explored structural alternatives to turn around the business. However, the division is not sustainable and there is no prospect of it becoming profitable under current market conditions and with current contractual obligations.”