Global Geophysical Services, Inc. announced it and certain of its domestic subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division. Global's non-U.S. subsidiaries were not included in the filing and will not be subject to the requirements of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
Alvarez & Marsal North America, LLC is serving as a financial advisor to the company.
Richard White, Global Chief Executive Officer, said, "While Global made significant headway on a number of initiatives aimed at improving operational efficiency in 2013, the Company continued to be burdened by significant debt incurred over the past several years. Since March 17, with the assistance of our financial advisors, we have been engaged in discussions with our lenders and bondholders to begin exploring methods to improve our liquidity, including any necessary restructuring that will permit us to continue our operations and attempt to preserve the value of our assets and overall enterprise. We are beginning the process of developing a consensual financial restructuring plan that will reduce the company's debt and align our financial profile with the strength of our operations."
In conjunction with the filings, the company filed motions seeking Court approval of a potential debtor-in-possession financing agreement that provides for additional borrowing capacity through a multiple draw term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of $60 million, subject to certain conditions as outlined in the commitment letter and term sheet filed with the Court. The company is seeking interim approval to immediately access up to $25 million. No definitive documents or agreement reflecting the terms and provisions included in the term sheet will be agreed upon until after interim Court approval. Upon approval by the Court, the new financing and cash generated from Global's ongoing operations will be used to support the business during the restructuring process.
Global has filed various motions with the Court in support of its restructuring, including requesting authorization to continue paying employee wages and providing health care and other benefits. Global has also asked for authority to continue to support its international operations and intends to pay suppliers in full under normal terms for goods and services provided after the filing date of March 25, 2014.
GGS provides an integrated suite of Geoscience solutions to the global oil and gas industry including high-resolution RG-3D Reservoir GradeSM seismic data acquisition, Multi-client data library products, seismic and micro seismic monitoring, processing, reservoir characterization and data analysis, interpretation services, and Autoseis autonomous recording equipment. GGS is headquartered in Houston, Texas.