Court Clears Daiichi Chuos Rehabilitation Plan

Daiichi Chuo Japanese bulk-shipper Daiichi Chuo Kisen Kaisha (DCKK) has received support for its rehabilitation plan submitted to the Tokyo District Court. The company said that the approval was secured from a large majority of the creditors 95% of voting right holders, 97.8% of total amount of voting rights- at the May 18, 2016 creditors’ meeting, and has been confirmed by the court as of the same date. The rehabilitation plan of Star Bulk Carriers, Daiichi Chuo’s wholly owned subsidiary, has also been approved and confirmed by the court. DCKK will be making its payment pursuant to the plan to creditors who hold fixed rehabilitation claims within 2 months from the day the plan’s confirmation becomes final and binding, the company said. Confirmation of a rehabilitation plan usually becomes final and binding after approximately 4 weeks. Daiichi Chuo and Star Bulk Carriers submitted their rehabilitation plans to the Tokyo District Court on March 17. Under the rehabilitation plan, Daiichi Chuo would buy all of the company’s existing shares without consideration. Following the confirmation of the plan, the company would acquire and cancel the shares and issue new shares through which the maritime cluster would become Daiichi Chuo’s new shareholder. The filing came after a deal with fourteen maritime cluster members after several delays.  The total amount of investment is JPY 2.29 billion (USD 20.3 million) and the total amount of loan to be obtained is JPY 390 million (USD 3.4 million) Daiichi announced its rehabilitation proceedings in October 2015 after filing for bankruptcy only a month earlier. World Maritime News Staff