SAExploration Holdings has completed a financial restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a private company.
SAExploration Holdings has completed a financial restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a private company. As a result of the restructuring, which received broad support from its creditors, the company has reduced its debt by approximately $74 million.
‘We are very pleased to have completed this efficient and consensual reorganization, and we look forward to working with our stakeholders and newly-appointed board members as a private company,’ said Michael J. Faust, president and CEO of the company that offers seismic data acquisition, data processing and interpretation. Last month, the company entered into a consent agreement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that resolves all allegations pertaining to fraud charges against the company filed by the SEC in October.
‘The joint motion filed by the SEC and SAE in support of the consent agreement notes the SAE’s cooperation, remediation and internal investigation, and that there is no allegation of continuing or ongoing misconduct by SAE, former SAE executives hid their fraud from the board, SAE has removed the former executives who were responsible for the misconduct and that SAE has implemented enhancements to its internal policies and procedures, including the addition of a chief compliance officer,’ said SAExploration in a statement.
The company consented to a final judgment on 18 December that that does not impose any monetary penalty on the company.
Upon emergence from Chapter 11, SAE agreed a new $15 million loan facility with some existing lenders, refinanced its prior credit facility with a new $20.5 million loan facility with existing lenders, and eliminated $89 million of principal and interest on its prior senior loan facility and 6% senior secured convertible notes due in 2023. New equity has been issued to certain existing lenders.
Kenneth Tubman, president of PPA Resources, will serve as chairman of the board of directors. Joining him on the board as directors will be Peter Cramer, founder and managing partner of the Pc Advisory Group, Zaki Selim, former president, Middle East & Asia, Schlumberger. Michael J. Faust, president and CEO of the company will also serve on the board as will Marc Rowland, founder and senior managing director of IOG Capital who will serve as audit committee chairman.
