The High Court yesterday put troubled finance firm Structured Credit Company (SCC) into examinership on the basis it still had a chance of surviving.
Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan said she was satisfied SCC's directors, who had petitioned for the appointment of an examiner, had produced evidence as to a reasonable prospect of the company or at least part of it surviving as a going concern.
Michael Collins SC, who appeared for SCC with Rossa Fanning, told the court the majority of existing creditors were either supporting the petition for examinership or were adopting a neutral attitude.
Paul Gardiner SC, for Japanese banking giant Nomura International, told the judge the company, which had earlier succeeded in obtaining an order for the winding up of the company, was adopting a neutral attitude to yesterday's application.
The petition for examinership was opposed by Morgan Stanley, the largest creditor of SCC. Mark Trainor, solicitor for Morgan Stanley, said his client was owed €93.7 million after set-off of collateral. The judge said one of the main criteria for putting the company into examinership - that it was likely to be unable to pay its debts - was not in dispute.
She accepted the view of an independent accountant who had reported to the court that, with a number of conditions in place, there was a reasonable prospect of survival for SCC.
The court had heard that company shareholders were prepared to put up an additional $125 million and a number of creditors had indicated, subject to certain conditions, that they were prepared to consider a restructuring of SCC's liability to them and trade further with the company.
