Newsprint and magazine paper giant Norske Skog has called an extraordinary general meeting for 6 January after its major shareholder rejected plans to restructure debt of €1 billion that threatens the company’s operations in Australia and New Zealand.
The Norwegian papermaker last month asked holders of senior note loans to switch to new unsecured loans that mature at later dates in a bid to strengthen its capital structure.
GSO Capital Partners, controlled by global private equity firm Blackstone Group, is opposed to the restructuring plan and wants to replace three Norske Skog directors. GSO last week became the company's largest shareholder, with an 11 percent stake, and is the largest holder of Norske Skog’s 218 million euros of unsecured bonds that are due June 2017.
GSO and Cyrus Capital Partners called for an extraordinary general meeting by January 7 to vote on new board members and a new refinancing proposal. They’re seeking to replace Karin Bing Orgland, Siri Beate Hatlen and Ole Enger as directors.
Norske Skog will be holding an extraordinary annual general meeting on 6 January 2016 at 16:00 CET at Karenslyst allé 2 in Oslo, the company said in a statement.
Items on the agenda will include:
The management's update on the Company's operations, including the Company's financial position.
A presentation of a refinancing of the Company given by GSO Capital Partners L.P. ("GSO") and Cyrus Capital Partners L.P. ("Cyrus"), two shareholders of the Company.
Election of three new members to the board of directors of the Company.
The board includes five shareholder-elected directors and three voted for by employees – all with equal voting rights.
Norske Skog said the notice and registration form for the extraordinary general meeting are now available on www.norskeskog.com.
Norske Skog has two mills in Australia – at Boyer in Tasmania and Albury in NSW – and operates the Tasman mill at Kawerau in New Zealand.