Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:21pm
(Reuters) – A unit of OSX Brasil SA , the shipbuilder controlled by former Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, proposed on Thursday to pay bondholders more interest on $500 million of defaulted debt.
OSX 3 Leasing BV, OSX’s leasing unit and which issued the bonds, reached a preliminary accord with creditors in which the unit agreed to raise the coupon rate on the bonds to 13 percent from 9.25 percent, according to a securities filing. The increase will be made retroactive from Oct. 30, 2013.
Bondholders will also be paid a one-time premium as part of the restructuring, in the form of new securities, the filing added. In addition, OSX 3 agreed to pay down the bonds in case the OSX 1 and OSX 2 vessels are sold.
Parent company OSX Brasil filed for bankruptcy protection in November, after the collapse of OGX Petr贸leo e G谩s Participa莽玫es SA, Batista’s oil company and OSX’s only customer. OGX, which was renamed 脫leo e G谩s Participa莽玫es SA, also stopped payments on $3.6 billion of bonds, the largest-ever corporate default in Latin America.
By keeping OSX Leasing, which owns three vessels that are leased for oil exploration purposes, out of bankruptcy proceedings, the parent company gained OSX more flexibility in negotiations with creditors.