Bourbon Corporation has received four takeover offers since the holding company suspended its listing and started a reorganization procedure to deal with its severe financial problems. The Commercial Court in France has now extended the deadline for offers. 

The identity of the four bidders is unknown, although one company is known to be formed by a group of French banks.

The Commercial Court in France had originally set the deadline for takeover bids on November 20th, 2019. Last week, however, the court decided to prolonge the period until 10 December to allow Bourbon time to rake in more offers.

Bourbon Corporation officially opened a reorganization procedure on Agust 7, after Chinese company ICBC Leasing requested a repayment of its guarantees for an amount exceeding USD 800 million. At that time, Bourbon’s sub-holding company Bourbon Maritime was already involved in another financial dispute with French creditors who demanded repayment of the company’s debt of EUR 720 million.

The reorganization only concerns the holding companies Bourbon Corporation and Bourbon Maritime and not the operating companies, which can continue their operations normally, emphasizes the company. “The objective of the procedure is to preserve the group’s operating activities in order to actively participate in the emerging recovery of a profoundly changing market”, the company notes in a statement.

Bourbon Offshore is one of the largest offshore service providers in the world over 450 offshore supply vessels and other support ships. Like all offshore service providers, the company has been struggling with the downturn of the oil and gas markets since the crude crash in 2014.