New Chapter 11 Filing - CGG Holding (US) Inc.

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CGG Holding (US) Inc.

  • 6/14/17 Recap: Global geophysical and geoscience company servicing customers primarily in oil and gas E&P is the latest victim of the oil and gas downturn of the past two-or-so years. The company's success is tied heavily to the E&P space and those clients were reluctant to invest in data acquisition projects to identify areas for future production or increased current production; therefore, you can imagine what happened to revenues and what that means when you're looking at a debt-stack as aggressive as this one. Indeed revenues and earnings were cut by 67% from 2012 to 2016. Ad hoc groups of secured lenders and high yield bondholders as well as as certain holders of the converts and certain shareholders of CGG SA, the foreign entity that filed in France and for Chapter 15, have entered into a Lock-up agreement delineating a balance sheet restructuring. The upshot is that the high yield bondholders and converts will own the majority of the equity in the reorganized company. 
  • Jurisdiction: S.D. of New York (Judge Glenn)
  • Capital Structure: $810mm secured debt ($300mm French Revolver of CGG SA - Wilmington Trust (London), $165mm US Revolver - Credit Suisse AG, $342mm US TL - Wilmington Trust NA), $1.6b senior unsecured high yield bonds (The Bank of New York Mellon) and $402.7mm convertible notes (issued by CGG SA).     
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP (Alan Kornberg, Brian Hermann, Lauren Shumejda, Christopher Hopkins) & (Chapter 15 for CGG SA) Linklaters LLP (Margot Schonholz, Robert Trust, Christopher Hunker)
    • Financial Advisor: AlixPartners LLP (Becky Roof, Susan Brown, Brad Hunter, John Creighton, Francisco Echevarria,John Somerville, David Shim)
    • Investment Banker: Morgan Stanley & Lazard (Kenneth Ziman)
      • Legal (Lazard): Sidley Austin LLP (Thomas Labuda Jr., Andrew Propps)
    • Claims Agent: Prime Clerk LLC (*click on company name above for free docket access)
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • Ad Hoc Secured Lender Committee (Och Ziff, Goldman Sachs International, Makuria Investment Management (UK) LLP, T. Rowe Price)
      • Legal: Kirkland & Ellis LLP (Kon Asimacopolous, Stephen Hessler, Anthony Grossi, Hannah Crawford)
    • Ad Hoc Committee of Holders of High Yield Bonds (Alden Global Capital, Attestor Capital LLP, Boussard & Gavaudan Asset Management LP, Contrarian Capital Management LLC, Aurelius Capital Management LP, Third Point LLC)
      • Legal: Wilkie Farr & Gallager LLP (John Longmire, Weston Eguchi)
    • Indenture Trustee for Senior Noteholders: Bank of New York Mellon
      • Legal: Hogan Lovells US LLP (Christopher Donoho, John Beck)

Updated 7/11/17 6:41 CT