Singapore-listed shipping services company Marco Polo Marine requested a trading suspension following an "increasing number" of demand letters from creditors.
In a stock exchange announcement, the company said: "Though the company is not of the present view that a failure of the proposed refinancing and debt restructuring is imminent, the company is not confident at this juncture that it would be able to eventually bridge the gap between the expectations of the lenders and the conditions set by the strategic investors as part of the proposed refinancing and debt restructuring."
The marine logistics group has been working on a debt refinancing and restructuring plan.
In the 23 April Announcement, the Board had opined that, at that relevant time, no suspension of trading of the Company’s shares was necessary after taking into consideration the various factors listed in the said announcement.
Since the 23 April Announcement, the Company had actively engaged various banks and financial institutions (Lenders) to discuss a preliminary proposal that included fresh funding from a few strategic investors who have signed non-binding term sheets as part of the Proposed Refinancing and Debt Restructuring.
Unfortunately, the Company experienced resistance from some Lenders to the preliminary proposal.
Further, based on the feedback received so far from some of the Lenders and though the Company is not of the present view that a failure of the Proposed Refinancing and Debt Restructuring is imminent, the Company is not confident at this juncture that it would be able to eventually bridge the gap between the expectations of the Lenders and the conditions set by the strategic investors as part of the Proposed Refinancing and Debt Restructuring.