Chicopee Manufacturing parent company Polymer Group notified of involuntary Chapter 11 filing

Posted 2:44PM on Tuesday 26th March 2002 ( 23 years ago )

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. - Polymer Group Inc. said Tuesday it is in talks with creditors who filed an involuntary Chapter 11 filing against the company. On Monday, noteholders filed the petition in Federal Court in Columbia, S.C., after Polymer Group missed two interest payments this year on its $600 million in senior notes. In a release, the North Charleston, S.C., plastics company said its talks with the creditors revolve around a withdrawal of the petition. Polymer failed to make the Jan. 1 and March 1 interest payments on its notes and instead offered to exchange the notes not held by CSFB Global Opportunities Partners for new notes valued by the company at 30 percent of the face amount of the senior notes. Polymer expects that if the petition isn't withdrawn, the court may dismiss it "in light of the exchange offer and comprehensive financial restructuring currently in progress." As part of Polymer's proposed exchange, the sponsoring noteholder, CSFB Global Opportunities, will receive 87.5 percent of the equity in a reorganized Polymer, and the company's existing shareholders will be entitled to the other 12.5 percent. The company's officers and directors own 48.6 percent of Polymer's common stock. The exchange offer is set to close April 15. On March 15, Polymer unveiled the restructuring plan, designed to cut debt by more than $550 million, which included the CSFB investment. The plan also included an offer to exchange all of its remaining senior subordinated notes for new notes due 2008 and a proposed 1-for-10 reverse stock split to be voted on at a special shareholders meeting. Shares of Polymer Group were at 53 cents early Tuesday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange, off 13 cents, or 19.7 percent. PGI, through its Chicopee subsidiary, offers a wide array of wiping products from home to factory

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