National Fish and Seafood, which filed for bankruptcy and closed in May, has cut a deal with creditor Rabobank.
NFS is attempting to get the money it claims it is owed by Pacific Andes International holdings included as a late claim in PAIH’s bankruptcy filing, which was filed in 2016. On 23 May, NFS assigned the Pacific Andes claims to Rabobank in exchange for a USD 7.5 million (EUR 6.7 million) reduction of the Rabobank debt.
“It looks like Rabobank is valuing that proof of claims at USD 7.5 million [rather than around USD 30 million NFS says PAIH owes it],” Daniel Gonzalez, a Miami bankruptcy attorney not involved in the NFS case, told SeafoodSource.
It appears unlikely – based on the limited information in the bankruptcy complaint – that there will be available funds to distribute to NFS’s unsecured creditors, according to Gonzalez. However, the trustee may be able to recover monies from “preference” or “fraudulent transfer” actions, which may lead to a distribution to the unsecured creditors, he added.
In the case of NSD Seafood Group purchasing the assets of NFS for USD 3 million (EUR 2.6 million), the NFS bankruptcy trustee will need to determine if the assets were worth more than USD 3 million.
“If they were really worth USD 10 million [EUR 8.8 million], for example, the trustee may be able to bring a fraudulent transfer action,” Gonzalez said.
