DUFRESNOY INDUSTRIAL MINERALS INC.-
ANNOUNCES THAT ITS SUBSIDIARY FILED A NOTICE OF INTENTION PURSUANT
TO THE BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY ACT.
QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC--JUNE 27, 1995-- Dufresnoy Industrial Minerals
Inc. announces that its solely owned subsidiary, href="internat.canada.les.html">Les Carrieres
Temis Inc. ("Carrieres Temis") located in Riviere-Bleue, has filed a
notice of intention pursuant to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency
Act. Such notice will enable Carrieres Temis to negotiate a
proposal of settlement with all its creditors. Carrieres
Temis globally owes $1,763,000, of which amount $718,000 is owed to
its secured creditors, $440,000 to affiliated companies and $605,000
to its unsecured creditors.
Carrieres Temis operates a pelletizing plant producing
limestone pellets for the horticultural and fertilizers markets.
Over the last few months, Carriere Temis was able to reimburse
over $700,000 on its long term debt, further to the sale of its
agricultural limestone distribution sites and limestone spreading
equipment and the production of aggregates. However, the
necessary financing to solve Carriere Temis cash-flow problems did
not take place. As of April 30, Carrieres Temis had a negative
working capital of $362,656.
Carriere Temis has ended its financial year on May 31, with
sales of pelletized products of 7,782 m.t., of which 4,430 m.t.
were generated over the last three months. Management
considers these results to be encouraging, allowing to foresee a
good development in this sector. The demand for quality
pelletized products, adapted to the customer's needs, is
constantly growing and the know-how of Carrieres Temis in this
particular field is more and more recognized. Despite this fact,
due to the impatience of some unsecured creditors, the company had
no other choice than to file a notice of intention. Carrieres
Temis' management believes the company should be in a position to
submit a proposition to all its creditors within the next 30 days
and to hold a meeting with them before the end of September.
Due to the financial difficulties of both subsidiaries,
Carrieres Temis and Dolobec inc., Dufresnoy was not able to meet
payment of interests due on debentures Series "A" and Series "B",
representing an amount of $26,053. The most important assets of
Dufresnoy are its 100 per cent interest in Carrieres Temis and its
50 per cent interest in Dolobec inc., which has also filed, on May
30, a notice of intention.
CONTACT: Guy Bourassa
President of Dufresnoy
(819) 647-6032
Rating News -- Moody's Comments on Failure of Orange County, California Sales
Tax Vote
NEW YORK--June 28, 1995--The overwhelming
rejection by the Orange County, California
voters of the proposal to increase the sales and use tax by one half of one percent
represents a major setback to the county's creditors as well as to the county's
desire to emerge from bankruptcy.
It has been clear from the start of this fiscal crisis that the
county would need significant new revenues. At this time, the
county's alternatives are not obvious since it will be difficult to
sustain further budget reductions and California counties have only
a limited ability to raise revenues.
It is difficult to envision any option that could be implemented
in the near term that would not be subject to nearly insurmountable
political and legal challenges. Moody's is concerned that the
county is moving ever closer to acting on its often cited threat of
debt repudiation.
If the tax increase had been approved, a temporary extension of
the $800 million remaining notes ($600 million in taxable notes due
July 10, $169 million in Series A notes due July 19, and $31 million
in Series B notes due August 19) may have been achieved voluntarily.
However, as noteholders have no better prospects of getting paid
next year then they have today, any extension sought under the
current circumstances will only be achieved under the threat of
repudiation, which Moody's would view as tantamount to a default.
The rejection of the sales tax increase sends a clear message that
the voters of Orange County have effectively disavowed their general
obligation debt.
Absent extraordinary intervention, we now expect a default or
forced extension on the July 10 note maturities, at which time
further rating downgrades would be forthcoming. In the worse case,
the County may even choose to repudiate the notes.
It is hardly surprising that the $1.8 billion investment loss
would lead to cash insufficiency, preventing the timely payment on
all short-term debt.
What is outrageous and unprecedented is that in the six months
since the bankruptcy filing, Orange County has utterly failed to
take responsibility for its own actions and their consequences, and
has demonstrated anything but the unfailing committment to full
restitution to its creditors that is expected of any government.
Through the threat of repudiating its debt, the county seems
bent on inflicting long-lasting damage to its governmental
reputation and creditworthiness, and is demonstrating near-total
disregard to the damage this will also inflict on the hard-won trust
generally awarded to other municipal borrowers.
CONTACT: Moody's Investor Service, New York
Daniel Heimowitz
Executive Vice President and Director
212/553-0340
or
Barbara Flickinger
Vice President-Assistant Director Far West Region
212/553-7736
or
Mary Franceour
Assistant Vice President
212/553-7240
or
Karen S. Krop
Assistant Vice President
212/553-4860
TWA receives necessary acceptance of prepackaged plan
ST. LOUIS--June 28, 1995--Trans World
Airlines
Inc. (AMEX:TWA) today announced that, subject to final tabulation,
the necessary votes of its creditors have been received to implement
the company's proposed capital restructuring through the filing of a
prepackaged plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Code.
TWA said that the voting reflected a clear choice by its
creditors for reorganization of the company through the approved
prepackaged plan in Chapter 11 over an out-of-court restructuring,
which was not approved. The deadline for voting was midnight, June
27, 1995.
TWA said that its board of directors would meet to review the
results of the voting and, pending board approval, the company could
shortly file the plan as a prepackaged Chapter 11 in bankruptcy
court in St. Louis.
TWA emphasized that with its creditors' approval already
obtained, it believed the reorganization in Chapter 11 should be
accomplished smoothly and rapidly and that it expected confirmation
of the plan by August 1995 and emergence from the reorganization in
September 1995.
"TWA passengers will not be inconvenienced in any way by our
prepackaged Chapter 11 proceeding - all flights will continue on
normal schedule and there will be no change in our very high level
of passenger service," said Jeffrey H. Erickson, CEO of TWA.
The company said that the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.
("PBGC"), a major creditor, had previously consented to the plan.
The company also said that Carl Icahn and affiliates agreed to a six
year extension of the maturity of loans made to the company and
consented to the restructuring of the company's obligations with
respect to the PBGC.
The company said that the requisite number of its preferred
stockholders had also approved the prepackaged plan and that its
common stockholders had approved the matters submitted to them at a
special meeting of stockholders on June 26, 1995 relating to the
company's proposed restructuring.
In connection with the successful completion of solicitations
authorizing its prepackaged plan, TWA announced the continuation
only of the solicitation of consents to the amendment of the Pledge
and Security Agreement securing the 8 percent Notes. The company
stated that it was extending the solicitation of the consents to the
amendment until 12:00 midnight, New York time, on July 12, 1995.
The company noted that receipt of such consents was not a condition
to the filing of its proposed Prepackaged Plan and that it could
pursue alternatives in the event the requisite consents were not
forthcoming. Erickson said, "In light of the fact that the
requisite percentage of the 8% Notes had approved the prepackaged
plan, we believe that additional votes should be forthcoming to the
proposed amendment to the Pledge and Security Agreement." The
company announced that an approximate aggregate principal amount of
$235,729,746 of 8 percent Notes had been voted on the consent to the
amendment to the Pledge and Security Agreement with $153,112,969
approximate aggregate principal amount voted in favor of the consent
to the amendment to the Pledge and Security Agreement for the 8
percent Notes.
The company noted that although it had received (subject to
final tabulation) the necessary votes of its creditors and
shareholders for the prepackaged plan, it did not receive the
required votes by the voting deadline from the company's 11 percent
Senior Secured Notes due 1997 ($26.9 million principal amount
outstanding) to the shortening of the maturity date of such notes
from September 1997 to March 1997 and to certain modifications of
the required sinking fund payment schedule of such notes. The
company said that approval by the 11 percent Notes is not a
condition to its prepackaged plan and is not essential to TWA's
successful implementation of its restructuring.
Trans World Airlines Inc., based in St. Louis, is a major
domestic and international airline serving 73 U.S. destinations and
12 foreign countries and operating hubs in St. Louis and New York.
CONTACT: TWA
Spokesperson: Robert Mead, 212/484-6701