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F3 Capital Raises Concerns on Vantage's Tactics

HONG KONG, Jan. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/. The Chapter 11 reorganization plan of Offshore Group Investment Limited ("OGIL"), its parent being Vantage Drilling Company ("Vantage"), was confirmed on January 14, 2016 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. Hours before the hearing was commenced, OGIL amended the plan and continued to file additional supplements with material changes. Vantage Drilling Company is in liquidation in the Cayman Islands and the Cayman Court granted the winding up order at a hearing on January 18, 2016. The winding up petition was filed by Wells Fargo Bank, a creditor of Vantage.

Mr. Nobu Su, the sole owner of F3 Capital which is a shareholder of Vantage, and the Chairman of Taiwanese shipping firm TMT, expressed his concern about the Chapter 11 filing, and said, "There remain questions surrounding the intentions of Vantage, and the lack of effort to provide full transparency and disclosure." The Debtors filed nothing showing the assets and liabilities of the various entities. There have been concerns raised regarding the Vantage operations in Hungary and Poland. The Debtors did not file Schedules or Statement of Financial Affairs showing the assets and liabilities leaving the very important facts in any bankruptcy a secret in the Vantage case.  

Only after Mr. Su attempted to object to the light speed of the Bankruptcy did Vantage admit that the Plan was based on a Restructuring Agreement between Vantage, OGIL and Lenders which had a key term Vantage's directors could not agree to because it was contrary to Cayman Law which required a shareholder vote. F3 Capital is one of the largest shareholders of Vantage.

Moreover, on September 29, 2015, Vantage disclosed having a strong liquidity position at about US$250m at Deutsche Bank Leveraged Finance Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, the US, but there has not been a proper explanation on what happened to these funds. The Delaware Bankruptcy Court found that F3 Capital and Mr. Su lacked standing so they could not cross examine any witnesses at the confirmation hearing. There was a dearth of information supporting the lenders had secured claims under Cayman law as it related to the Cayman companies or the stock of those companies. It is also questioned why Mr. Paul Bragg was nominated as an officer and director of any of Vantage's subsidiaries given his track record.

Mr. Su continued, "The true intentions of Vantage must be fully revealed. This involves answering some key questions regarding its conduct in recent years. There is a lack of transparency regarding the OGIL Prepackaged Plan."  Further, Mr. Su stated "This 'Perfect Plan' reminds me of what we saw in the financial crisis with the public being shut out of what was really going on with Lehman, Barclays, Nomura and other companies only to learn years later that taxpayers and consumers were the true victims paying to save banks in the US and abroad from bad management."

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