Legal

China Fishery trustee promises 'swift and value-maximizing' sale by 2023 in long-running Chapter 11 saga

Executive has for several years been unsuccessful in his attempts to sell the business, and wants an additional $15 million to get to the finish line.

The still-operating Peruvian arms of the beleaguered China Fishery Group fell deeper into the red during the first half of 2020
The still-operating Peruvian arms of the beleaguered China Fishery Group fell deeper into the red during the first half of 2020Foto: CFG

The executive managing the Chapter 11 case for Pacific Andes' former Peruvian anchovy subsidiary said in a court filing late last month that he can can arrange a "value-maximizing exit" for the group by the end of next year -- if he only had $15 million (€12.3 million) more.

William Brandt, Jr., Chapter 11 trustee for beleaguered China Fishery Group International (CFGI), has spent nearly $40 million (€32.7 million) trying sell off the company, and is now requesting an additional $15 million (€12.3 million) in order to finalize the sale.

Brandt, who was appointed nearly four-and-a-half years ago, said in a filing Dec. 23 that the existing loan agreement of $45 million set aside for administrative expenses is nearly gone, with just $5.5 million remaining.

Brandt said in the filing he needed more money so that "his advisors can continue to provide necessary advice and services in connection with finding a value-maximizing exit from this Chapter 11 Case."

This "value-maximizing exit" could be achieved by Dec. 21, 2022, he added.

[Read more about the long-running Pacific Andes and China Fishery Group saga here]

Brandt, who was appointed in October 2018 to handle the sale, has for several years been unsuccessful in his attempts to sell the business.
Last year he asked a New York bankruptcy court for permission to hire a litigation and arbitration firm, citing a looming lawsuit and his own inability to find a bidder to purchase its Peruvian assets, even after contacting hundreds of individuals.

Since the execution of a loan agreement in November of 2019, Brandt and his advisors "have continued to make considerable efforts and progress toward a swift and value-maximizing exit from Chapter 11," the motion from December states.

The efforts included continuing to market CFG Peru Singapore’s equity interests in CFGI, while ensuring the company's Peruvian operations "remain profitable despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has taken a significant toll in Peru."

Brandt pointed out the ongoing saga has been "hindered" by inter-creditor and liquidator disputes. But, he said, the parties "have engaged in extensive and productive discussions."

Brandt previously told the court bidders are being scared away by a lawsuit filed by FTI Consulting, the liquidators in bankruptcy proceedings, that allege CFG Peru benefited from the $152 million (€135.4 million) acquisition of Copeinca through fraudulent trading practices.
Last June, China Fishery Group's (CFG) founding Ng family requested the New York judge either dismiss the ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy case or require the trustee in the case to provide more information before removing all directors, general managers and legal representatives at China Fishery Group Peru Singapore's direct subsidiaries, who are also Ng family members.
Brandt claimed the litigation-riddled seafood family, whose Pacific Andes group of companies originally held CFG, along with a range of other assets, is standing in the way of his move to net a $459 million (€421 million) inter-company claim owned by non-debtor CFG Investment to China Fishery International (CFIL).
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Published 5 January 2021, 05:48Updated 5 January 2021, 15:57
China Fishery GroupPeruWilliam BrandtPacific AndesBankruptcies