Bourbon’s financial restructuring takes ‘decisive step’

A French court has approved a plan that is a decisive step towards finalising the financial restructuring and preparing for the shareholder transition of offshore support vessel operator, Bourbon.

The Marseille Commercial Court has approved the accelerated safeguard plans for Société Phocéenne de Participation (SPP), which controls the assets of Bourbon and its affiliates, reducing its financial debt to less than 1.5 times EBITDA and the provision of new money. This decision marks the outcome of a process initiated by the group and its partners with the aim of “providing Bourbon with a sustainable, robust and growth-oriented financial structure” said the company in a press statement.

SPP, an organisation owned by French banking institutions, took over 100% ownership of Bourbon as part of the company’s restructuring proceedings, following a judgment from the commercial court on 23 December 2019.

Bourbon is one of the world’s largest operators of OSVs, with some 223 vessels and almost 6,000 employees. It reported revenue of €733M (US$849M) in 2024.

The approval of these plans was supported by creditors, representing a significant portion of the group’s financial debt, as well as its shareholders. The group is now entering the final phase of implementing the commercial court’s decision with the deployment of the usual financial and legal operations, which will be finalised before the end of 2025.

Once the finalisation process is completed by the end of 2025, funds managed by affiliates of Davidson Kempner Capital Management and of Fortress Investment Group, already involved alongside Bourbon in the development of the plan, will become the group’s new controlling shareholders.