Top banana Chiquita slips up

摘要

Great White Fleet parent company, Chiquita Brands International, says it hopes to negotiate an arrangement with bondholders that could lead to America's largest banana company filing for Chapter XI bankruptcy protection later this year. If successful, Chiquita will restructure a large proportion of its $862M public debt into equity, but from last week it stopped paying all interest and principal payments on its debt. Financial restructuring would involve the parent company leaving its subsidiaries, including its reefer shipping operation Great White Fleet to continue operating, said the company's chief operating officer Steven G Warshaw, adding, "During the negotiating process, it's business as usual." Aggressive measures to increase productivity have already been taken and there are plans to continue with further cost saving measures, he explained.