TROUBLED French shipping giant CMA CGM, of Marseilles , rated the world's third biggest after Maersk and MSC, now faces angry bankers who want founder-CEO Jacques Saade removed before they will consider a bail out, reports Bloomberg and Tradewinds.
"I cannot believe our financial partners would try to take advantage of our current situation, when the company is fully mobilised, when we are on the road to recovery and when the company needs all of the knowledge and experience of all its executive team.
I have built up this company and we have made it a world leader with close to 17,000 employees," responded Mr Saade in a statement issued to the shipping press.
French lender BNP Paribas, which holds US$250 million of CMA CGM paper, was the first to demand his ouster, reports Bloomberg.
Other banks are demanding reforms be demonstrably underway before agreeing to restructure the company's $4 billion debt or refinance the shipping line's 40-vessel newbuilding scheme.
Bloomberg also said Mr Saade could become non-executive chairman of CMA CGM with major lenders given board representation and veto power.
Mr Saade, who founded the line 30 years ago after fleeing the Lebanese civil war, took the initiative a few weeks ago to seek financial help and renegotiate or cancel ship orders. He also set a creditors' committee to find a cash injection, as well as making an appeal for government help.
CMA CGM has denied French press reports that he has received an offer for his African liner subsidiary Delmas from its former owner Vincent Bollore, who was allegedly taking advantage of company's difficulties to buy back the shipping company he once owned. There was no official response from Mr Bollore to these reports, reported Lloyd's List.
The French government is also in talks with the banks on a restructuring the debt. CMA CGM hoped to draw on the state's sovereign fund set up to help troubled but strategically important companies to the French republic.
Clarkson's database lists the owner as expecting 37 boxship newbuildings from this year until 2011 including eight 13,300-TEU monsters at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering at a time when smaller ships are top of the pops in the charter market.
Hyundai Heavy Industries is building nine 11,356-TEUers and Samsung has five 8,465-TEU ships on order, quite apart from the 15 newbuildings on order from Hanjin. Private equity funds have shown interest in buying a stake in the company, said Bloomberg.
Source : HKSG, 31.10.09
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