Reuters: Bankruptcy News: Hutchison Whampoa go to court to keep Eircom bid alive

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Hutchison Whampoa go to court to keep Eircom bid alive May 16th 2012, 17:57 By Sarah O'Connor DUBLIN | Wed May 16, 2012 1:57pm EDT DUBLIN May 16 (Reuters) - Lawyers for Hutchison Whampoa Ltd made a last ditch attempt to salvage the Hong Kong company's bid for Eircom, the struggling Irish telecoms firm that is to be handed over to its lenders. The firm's lawyers asked a Dublin court on Wednesday to direct the examiner for Eircom to look more fully into its bid. Eircom was granted court protection from creditors in March to allow it to restructure 3.75 billion euros ($4.9 billion) debt and its court-appointed examiner agreed last week to implement a company-backed plan where lenders would take control and cut the company's debt by 40-50 percent. The examiner spurned for the second time a 2 billion euros bid by Hutchison in the process and lawyers for the company controlled by Asia's richest man Li Ka-shing said that its offer had not been afforded due diligence. "From the outset the examiner dedicated himself to a considerably shorter timeframe than set out in the (Companies Amendment) Act but the consequence is that he has curtailed his own ability to investigate and consider alternative proposals," said Michael Cush, the barrister representing Hutchison. "That shortened timeframe was made against the backdrop of having existing proposals, that key decision is not objectively justifiable, it's in the interest of all parties that the process be as open and transparent as possible." Under Irish examinership law, a process akin to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States and administration in Britain, an examiner has to get the backing of the company's creditors for any scheme of arrangements, a process that in this case stacks the odds against Hutchison's bid. Hutchison, which runs 3 Mobile in Ireland, made the court application alongside New York's DW Investment Management LP, one of the creditors holding 350 million euros in floating rate loan notes (FRNs) due to be wiped out in the lenders' plan. Eircom's examiner, Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton, is due to meet the company's creditors to present the details of the lenders' plans on Friday. Justice Peter Kelly said that bearing in mind that the creditors have to be told whether the meeting will go ahead, he would give his decision on the application on Thursday. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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