History
ATP Oil & Gas borrowed heavily to build Gulf of Mexico production, then filed for Chapter 11 in August 2012 and was delisted, with shareholder recovery unstated.
2004-2007: Building on borrowed money
The record opens in 2004 with ATP, an offshore oil and gas developer, already leaning on Credit Suisse First Boston loans. In September 2004 it amended its first and second lien term loans (borrowings secured by the company's assets, with the first lien paid back first), cut the interest margins and bought back 1,926,837 warrants for up to $11.6M. In December it sold 4,000,000 new shares at $14.00, raising about $53.2M net.
The pattern then repeated. In April 2005 the first lien loan was raised to $350.0M, with the money tied to Gulf of Mexico development and acquisitions and North Sea work. In August 2005 ATP sold $175.0M of 13 1/2% preferred stock, followed in March 2006 by $150.0M of 12 1/2% preferred. Neither converts into common shares. In September 2005 it bought BP's 55% interest in the Kings Peak leases and a share of the Canyon Express pipeline for $18.6M, and in October agreed to buy the Rowan Midland drilling unit for a net $50M, to be converted into a floating production unit.
The term loan was lifted to $525.0M in June 2006 and then topped up with $375.0M more in March 2007, taking total borrowings to $1.262 billion. The money was for properties including Mirage, Morgus, Green Canyon 37, Anduin, Aconcagua and Camden Hills. In September 2007 ATP added a $160.0M subordinated loan at 11.25%, enlarged to $210.0M a week later. In November it agreed to sell 5,000,000 shares to the public at $47.00.
2008-2009: Refinancing and selling the North Sea
In April 2008 ATP replaced its auditor Deloitte with PricewaterhouseCoopers; Deloitte had reported a material weakness in internal controls at the end of 2007. In June 2008 a new Credit Suisse-led package of a $1.05B term loan, a $600.0M Asset Sale Facility and a $50.0M revolver refinanced the $1.2B senior loan and the $210.0M subordinated notes, pushing out maturities at a higher rate.
The Asset Sale Facility was put to use in October 2008, when ATP's UK subsidiary agreed to sell 80% of its Tors and Wenlock North Sea interests to EDF for £265M. The sale closed in December for £258.2M cash (about $388.9M), with EDF also taking on future abandonment liabilities (the cost of closing down the wells). ATP stayed operator and EDF received an option on the remaining 20%.
In 2009 ATP turned to shareholders. In June it contracted to issue 8,750,000 new shares. In September it sold 5,300,000 shares at $18.50 (about $93.4M net) and privately placed 1,400,000 shares of 8.00% convertible preferred at $100 each (about $135.5M net), with proceeds aimed mainly at Telemark. In November it loosened its loan covenants, but paid higher interest and $12.6M in fees.
2010-2011: Second lien notes and the Titan platform
After a further loan amendment in January 2010, ATP sold $1.5 billion of 11.875% senior second lien notes due 2015 in April 2010. The proceeds repaid the Credit Suisse term loans in full, about $1.33 billion, and a new $100M revolver was signed. Two months later the revolver was cancelled and replaced with a $150M Credit Suisse term loan at 11.0%.
In September 2010 ATP moved its ATP Titan floating platform, operating since March 2010 at the first Telemark Hub well, into a subsidiary, ATP Titan LLC. That subsidiary borrowed up to $350M from CLG Energy Finance, with $150M drawn at closing. The loan is not guaranteed by ATP. In February 2011 the Credit Suisse term loan was amended to allow up to $210M, cutting its interest rate from 11.0% to 9.0% once new loans funded. Shares on issue were broadly steady across 2010 to 2012, at about 51 to 52 million.
2012-2013: Chapter 11
In March 2012 the term loan was amended again to allow incremental loans of up to $365M, with the expansion set at $155M. ATP said it had received about $60M from asset sales and expected over $100M more. In June it raised $35M through an 8.0% convertible note, convertible at $4.46 a share, with a warrant for 3,923,767 shares at $6.69.
On August 17, 2012 ATP filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas, blaming the Macondo blowout and the Gulf of Mexico drilling moratoria. The filing put the second lien notes, about $366M owed to Credit Suisse and the convertible note into default, with enforcement stayed. NASDAQ delisted the stock, with trading suspended on August 29, 2012, after citing the bankruptcy, the residual value of shareholders' interests and the late June quarter report.
ATP signed debtor-in-possession financing (court-supervised emergency lending) on August 29, 2012: up to $250M of new money and up to $367.6M to refinance existing loans. It was amended three times, in September and December 2012 and February 2013. The amendments added $25M, raised interest, set deadlines for the MC 942 S-Sand and the Clipper Project, and required sale processes for shelf and deepwater properties. The last, on February 13, 2013, added a facility of up to $117M at a 15% discount, with $11.8M initially available, and let lenders suspend borrowing if Clipper ran late or over budget. ATP also gave Moncrief Oil International a 90-day option on its Mediterranean interests in September 2012 and set up decommissioning trusts with BOEM in November.
As of February 19, 2013, ATP remained in Chapter 11, with a hearing on the latest amendment that day. No filing had said what common shareholders would receive.
Written from the 35 story beats below (2004 to 19 Feb 2013), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.