TCL seeks lenders’ approval

The directors of Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) have announced that the group has agreed in principle with the steering committee of lenders on the terms for the re-profiling of its debt.
Group chairman Andy Bhajan and group chief executive officer Dr Rollin Bertrand said various approvals were currently being sought while the legal agreements to effect the re-profiling were being drafted.
They said it was anticipated that these agreements would be signed in January 2012.
“Upon approval by all relevant parties of the terms of the restructuring, related fees and costs estimated at $113 million will be charged to the statement of earnings,” the directors said.
They noted that a special shareholders meeting would be convened in the near term to seek shareholder consent for various measures required for the re-profiling.
The directors made these comments as they reviewed TCL’s financial report for the nine months ended September 30, 2011.
TCL, the Trinidad and Tobago parent company of Arawak Cement Company in Barbados and Caribbean Cement Company Limited in Jamaica, began negotiating with its lenders for a re-profiling of its debt earlier this year after declaring a moratorium on all debt service payments on January 14, 2011.
This was because the company was not in compliance with certain loan ratio requirements at the end of 2010 and, as such, was in default of its obligations under the various loan agreements.