Cash-strapped O&M firms caught in a bind

Singapore

CASH-STRAPPED offshore and marine (O&M) companies with looming debt repayments are caught between a rock and a hard place as investor sentiment towards them stay dampened despite the recovery of oil prices from their lows.

These firms are seen as not safe enough for the traditional capital markets, yet are not distressed enough for private equity (PE) to happily swoop in.

Bankers are advising such O&M companies to restructure their operations or sell off assets to raise the funds they need, given that the bond and equity markets are pretty much closed off for most of them.

And although PE funds have already amassed a huge pile of dry powder to deploy in the sector, ma…