Creditors of Pacific Andes Resources Development (Pard) are gunning for the beleaguered fish seller in Bermuda and the British Virgin Islands.
The moves come after a Singapore court ruled on Monday that a stay of execution by Pard's creditors is confined to Singapore.
Lawyers for Maybank and Bank of America went into action immediately after the ruling.
Maybank filed a petition in the Bermuda Supreme Court to wind up Pard that same day, Pard said in a statement to the Singapore Exchange yesterday. The petition is scheduled for hearing on Oct 14.
Concurrently, Maybank has filed an ex parte summons in the Bermuda Court to appoint joint provisional liquidators for Pard. That hearing is scheduled for today.
Also on Monday, Bank of America applied to wind up and appoint liquidators for two Pard units, Pacific Andes Enterprises and Parkmond Group, which trade seafood and are incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. These applications in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court of the British Virgin Islands will be heard on Nov 7.
Pard's total indebtedness, both contingent and primary, is about US$280 million (S$382 million). The Straits Times understands that Maybank is claiming more than US$60 million. Bank of America is claiming close to US$15 million from the two units.
The Straits Times reported on Tuesday that a Singapore court had extended the moratorium for proceedings against Pard to Oct 12. Pard had filed for protection under the Singapore Companies Act in July, after struggling to pay creditors last year and defaulting on $200 million, 8.5 per cent bonds in January.
But the ruling paved the way for creditors to pursue Pard outside of Singapore as the moratorium is limited to Singapore. Neither does the stay apply to three other Pard units that lacked strong enough connections to Singapore.
Pard's moratorium can be extended further to Jan 13 next year if the firm holds a meeting to vote on a restructuring plan and appoints a chief restructuring officer, though Pard did not mention this in its statement yesterday.
Pard had previously fought off another chief restructuring officer it had agreed to appoint. Creditors have alleged that it has been shielding its units from investigations into certain suspicious transactions.
Since then, Pard's independent directors have engaged RSM Corporate Advisory to undertake a forensic review of the allegations.
A draft report is to be put out this month, though a Pard spokesman declined to comment further yesterday.
Trading in shares of both Pard and associate company China Fishery has been halted since November last year, after they said they were being investigated for possible breaches of the securities law.
