The company says this action was taken to facilitate a restructuring of the debts of Reichhold Inc, which represents the US portion of the global Reichhold organisation.
Reichhold also announced that it has arranged US$130 million in financing from its bondholders to fund continuing operations, of which $100 million (subject to court approval) will be available to Reichhold Inc in the form of debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing.
The financing will also be used in part to repay the company’s and its affiliates’ existing secured financing in North America and Europe.
Sale of US business
The bondholders will also serve as the stalking horse bidder for the US business in a 363 sale process to be conducted over the next few months.
Reichhold affiliates located outside the US are not included in the filings and will continue to function outside of the Chapter 11 process.
Reichhold has filed a number of customary motions seeking court authorisation to continue to support its business operations during the bankruptcy process, including the payment of employee salaries and health benefits without interruption. The goal is to continue its relationships with customers and suppliers in the ordinary course of business.
“For over 85 years, Reichhold has provided value to our global customers. All of Reichhold’s operations are open and serving customers as usual. We have the full support of our bondholders and will emerge from this process even more capable of developing and delivering the innovative products and services that our customers value,” said John S. Gaither, Chairman, President and CEO of Reichhold Industries Inc.
Founded in 1927, Reichhold, headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, is a manufacturer of unsaturated polyester and vinyl ester resins for composites applications and also a supplier of coating resins. It has manufacturing operations in North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Europe and Asia and employs around 1300 people worldwide.