Source: www.richardchandler.com
The Richard Chandler Corporation is an investment organisation based in Singapore and founded by New Zealand-born entrepreneur Richard F. Chandler.
Richard Chandler Corporation’s move comes after the embattled Chinese forestry company last week said it had started looking for a buyer under the terms of an agreement with some of its noteholders. If no buyer emerges, noteholders stand to acquire nearly all of the company’s assets under a restructuring.
While a sale raises the recovery prospects for noteholders, it is unclear whether Sino-Forest’s plan would leave any residual value for shareholders.
RC Corp has appointed David Walker, a forestry industry expert, to lead a team, a statement from the Singapore-based fund said on Monday.
The company’s “business and financial resources have continued to deteriorate in the absence of a credible business plan”, RC Corp said.
Walker, a former Macquarie banker and long-time advisor to the forestry, pulp and paper industry, said the company faced a range of complex problems, and that “a successful restructuring which builds a long-term, sustainable plantation business will take a considerable amount of time and a strong team to drive the process.”
Last week, a Canadian court granted Sino-Forest Corp protection from its creditors while it pursues a sale to a third party.
The company said holders of about 40% of the aggregate principal amount of its notes have so far agreed to support its plan, which it presented as the best way to secure its future and normalise operations.
“We believe the full value of our assets will only be achieved if we are able to continue operating the business,” Judson Martin, chief executive of Sino-Forest, said in a statement.
Sino-Forest bonds due 2014 and due 2017 were last quoted around 30 cents on the dollar, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The company’s Toronto-listed shares have been suspended since August.
