Venture Holdings Company's bank debt is said to have ticked up roughly eight points into the 70-72 range over the last two weeks as bondholders began to buy bank debt claims. Traders said the bondholders are expecting to get a minimal recovery when the company emerges from bankruptcy and are therefore trying to hedge their bets. The identities of the bondholders purchasing the bank debt could not be determined. An attorney involved in the case declined to comment on the progress of the reorganization negotiations. Earlier in July, the bank debt fell out of the 70s range and traded as low as the 62 context with market players suggesting the dip was caused by creditor wrangling.
Venture Holdings is in the process of selling off Peguform GmbH & Co. KG, one of the German subsidiaries for which the German Municipal Court Freiburg had to conduct insolvency hearings. This event hurt Venture Holdings' liquidity leading the company to file for bankruptcy. The attorney said it is unclear whether the proceeds from the Peguform assets would provide any additional value for the general creditor pool once the German claims had been satisfied. He noted that Rothschild was the investment bank chosen to assist the sale.
Judy O'Neill, an attorney at Dykema Gossett and counsel to Venture Holdings, declined to comment except to say the company has received an extension of its exclusive period to file a plan of reorganization until September 24. Calls to James Butler, Venture Holdings' cfo and general counsel, were not returned by press time.