High Court grants Swissco 1-month interim extension for judicial management

THE Singapore High Court has granted Swissco Holdings an interim extension of a month till Jan 31, 2020 for its judicial management period, the company announced on Friday.

The original deadline for the marine company was Dec 31, 2019. A pre-trial conference has been fixed for Jan 2 at 10.30am, when appropriate directions will be given for a further hearing in January 2020, Swissco said.

The judicial managers had requested an extension till Feb 28, 2020 to facilitate the entry of an agreement related to the group's corporate restructuring.

In November, Swissco announced that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Tech Onshore MEP-Prefabricators and a business owner to transfer the company's listing status on the main board of the Singapore Exchange via a scheme of arrangement.

The target company Tech Onshore is involved in providing engineering and fabrication solutions for oil and gas companies, and has now expanded to prefabrication of mechanical, electrical and plumbing modules.

If successful, the proposed transaction will result in the delisting of Swissco, and the listing of the target or a new listco under it.

Judicial management is a type of debt restructuring procedure where an independent judicial manager is appointed to control the affairs, business and property of a company under financial distress.

Shares in Swissco are suspended from trading.