It has been a challenging year across several industries and sectors, not only due to the continuing pandemic, but also due to the general recovery being somewhat slower than anticipated in certain sectors. There are, however, some positive signs, especially in the offshore energy sector. Also, according to market reports, there has been a steady decline in newly commenced financial restructuring processes during the last three financial quarters.
The last couple of months mark several milestones for the Financial Restructuring & Recovery team of Thommessen, which in recent years has been involved in all the large restructurings with ties to Norway, addressing pre-restructuring debt of more than NOK 300 billion in total. This includes the Seadrill restructuring, where the company's plan of reorganisation was confirmed by US bankruptcy courts in late October, the 2021 enforcement and take-over of the Polarcus vessels, the 2021 Floatel restructuring, the 2021 DeepOcean UK RPP process, the recent announcement of the Eidesvik Offshore restructuring, as well as the NOK 30 billion financial restructuring of Solstad and the ongoing restructuring of DOF, among others. We were also represented on the creditors' committee of the USD 5.2 billion restructuring of Norwegian Air Shuttle. This week, Olympic Subsea and its creditors entered into a restructuring agreement, after almost two years of negotiations.
Looking ahead, 2022 will certainly bring new challenges. Also, the Norwegian restructuring regime is under assessment, and a contemplated regulatory reform may be put in place already next year. Our advisors comprising the Financial Restructuring lead by Kristoffer Hegdahl, represent expertise across practices and sectors. We have been involved in out-of-court workouts, Chapter 11 proceedings, various Schemes of Arrangements, Restructuring Plan Procedures, enforcement scenarios, distressed acquisitions, litigations and restructuring through liquidation proceedings. In addition, our team has contributed to the successful turnaround of several companies in various sectors and levels of distress, through early stage interaction and assistance with the aim of avoiding a full financial restructuring, preserving values and improving the financial position of our clients. These are typically complex cross-border projects which requires not only technical expertise across practices, but also good project management skills and an understanding of the dynamics involved. We bring broad experience to the table utilising all available tools, and we look forward to continuing to assist with preserving value and delivering commercial, practical, effective and creative restructuring services to our clients in complex restructurings and distressed loan workouts in the future.
