(COVINGTON, La.) — Hornbeck Offshore Services has announced plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, The Advocate reported.
The marine transportation company told investors that it expects to file a prepackaged bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas to reorganize the company. It recently reached agreements with creditors for several loans to go into forbearance, which were largely due in April.
The face value of the company's total debt on its books was more than $1.2 billion as of September 2019, records show.
Hornbeck Offshore expects to file for bankruptcy protection and reorganization before April 20. Company executives had been negotiating with lenders for months trying to restructure debt without bankruptcy, but the bottom fell out after the coronavirus pandemic swept across the world and the price of crude oil dropped to $20 per barrel.
The company has about 1,200 employees, about 150 of them in Louisiana onshore and the remainder offshore. It is considered an essential business, so many workers are still showing up to its Covington offices. Even during bankruptcy the company doesn't expect to furlough workers and wants to continue business as usual.
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