Orpheus commences bankruptcy proceedings against former partner
Monday, March 30 2015 - 12:54 AM WIB
ASX-listed Orpheus Energy said it has commenced bankruptcy proceedings against its former Indonesian partner Nugro Suksmanto as the latter has not been able to repay outstanding debt worth about US$7.5 million.
?After exhaustive negotiations with Nugroho Suksmanto since the announced and shareholder approved sale of Orpheus?s Indonesian assets in August 2014, and despite innumerable promises, none of the ~US$7,500,000 in outstanding funds has yet been paid by Suksmanto to Orpheus and its group,? the company said in a statement Monday.
?Consequently, the Orpheus board has decided the company had no choice but to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against Suksmanto to recover all outstanding funds,? it added.
Orpheus said it instructed its lawyers, Hadiputranto, Hadinoto & Partners, a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International, to lodge the bankruptcy petition in the Jakarta Commercial Court at the Central Jakarta District Court on March 26, 2015.
Orpheus in July of last year signed agreements with Suksmanto, PT Mega Coal and related parties regarding the sale of its Indonesian assets for total proceeds of approximately US$8.2million.
Orpheus announced March 9, 2015 that after lengthy negotiations with its creditor PT Baraindo and also its debtor Suksmanto, the company has executed a legally binding debt novation agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Orpheus has paid PT Baraindo A$270,000 from the proceeds of a rights issue, and the A$792,100 balance of the debt owing to PT Baraindo has been assigned to Suksmanto.
This means the company now has no external debt. It correspondingly reduces the amount owed to Orpheus by Suksmanto to around US$7.5 million.
Elsewhere, Orpheus said in the statement that the Indonesian Commercial Court will make a determination on Suksmanto?s bankruptcy position following the Court hearing within 60 days of the petition lodgement.
It added that this decision is enforceable even if Suksmanto files an appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court must give its decision within 60 days of the date the request for appeal is filed. The Supreme Court decision is subject to civil review in the Supreme Court. Should Suksmanto pay Orpheus during the process, the company can withdraw the legal action, it said.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak