In the hours that followed the initial announcement New York-listed OSG watched its stock respond to an unprecedented spike in trading by crashing 58.99% to $1.34, which is slightly higher than a new low of $1.02 but far below a 52-week high of $15.16.
In a note emailed to investors Deutsche Bank’s Justin Yagerman told clients the filing implies that negotiations between OSG and its lenders about a liquidity gap linked to the replacement of a $1.5bn credit facility with a $900m one “may be progressing worse than expected”.
“We believed lender negotiations were not progressing well when the company announced it had fully drawn its revolver in July,” he wrote. “Given OSG’s statements, a potential “bankruptcy” filing may be a real possibility rather than a negotiating tactic with its lenders, if negotiations are still not progressing well at this point in time.”
“OSG’s mention of a Chapter 11 filing especially this far before its loan expiry in February 2013 signals negotiations with its lender group have not progressed positively,” the analyst continued. “It is unclear how much equity may be diluted in a Chapter 11 proceeding or how the unsecured revolver group will be treated in relation to the other secured and unsecured creditors.”
Yagerman suspended his price target for shares in response to the uncertainty surrounding the Manhattan-based shipowner's capital structure but left his “hold” rating intact. Natasha Boyden of Global Hunter Securities pulled the plug altogether earlier in the day.
You can read OSG's SEC filing in full by clicking on the link located under the Related Media section to the right of this article
