US-headed wood fibre processing and pellet producer Rentech Inc., has announced that it and its subsidiary, Rentech WP U.S. Inc. have filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
According to a statement, the purpose of the bankruptcy filing is to seek to sell the assets of the company’s Fulghum Fibres and New England Wood Pellet (NEWP) subsidiaries and facilitate an “orderly wind-down” of Rentech Inc.
On December 15, 2017, the subsidiaries of the company conducting its Fulghum Fibres woodchip business in the United States, which have not filed for bankruptcy protection, entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) with an affiliate of Scott Davis Chip Company, Inc. for the sale of substantially all of the assets of that business.
On December 18, 2017, the subsidiaries of the company conducting its New England Wood Pellet (NEWP) business, which have not filed for bankruptcy protection, entered into an APA with Lignetics of New England, Inc., a subsidiary of wood pellet producer Lignetics, Inc., for the sale of substantially all of the assets of that business.
The closing of both APA transactions is also subject to specified closing conditions, including the approval of the Bankruptcy Court. The filing of the voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 by Rentech, Inc. and Rentech WP U.S. Inc. is not expected to impact the ordinary course operations of the Fulghum Fibres or New England Wood Pellet businesses.
Canadian pellet operations
On December 15, 2017, the subsidiary of the company that owns the Atikokan facility entered into an APA with a numbered company, “2607043 Ontario Inc.”, an affiliate of True North Timber, a forest resources company, for the going-concern purchase of substantially all of the assets of the Atikokan operations.
The Wawa facility located in Wawa, Ontario remains idle. The corporate owner of the Wawa facility, Rentech WP Canada, ULC, has applied to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for the appointment of a receiver and manager, to facilitate the sale or liquidation of the facility. The appointment of a receiver and manager to sell or liquidate the Wawa facility is not expected to impact the ordinary course operations of the Atikokan facility.
