Norske Skog Said to Work With Houlihan Lokey on Debt Review
Luca Casiraghi
September 21, 2015 — 1:38 PM CEST
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Bondholders had approached management about maturities
GSO and others working on proposals to reduce company debt
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Norske Skogindustrier ASA is working with Houlihan Lokey Inc. to conduct a review of its debt structure, which may lead to a restructuring, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
The investment bank will assess options for the Norwegian papermaker, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The appointment came after bondholders approached management about reviewing debt maturities, they said.
Carsten Dybevig, a spokesman for Lysaker, Norway-based Norske Skog, and John Gallagher, a spokesman for Houlihan Lokey in New York, declined to comment on the matter.
Blackstone Group LP’s GSO Capital Partners, which owns Norske Skog’s bonds, is working on proposals to reduce the papermaker’s 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) of debt, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month. A group of holders of bonds due 2019 hired law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to create an alternative plan, according to other people familiar with the matter.