General Maritime Announces Confirmation of Plan of Reorganization

NEW YORK, May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- General Maritime Corporation (the "Company") (OTC BB: GMRRQ) today announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the "Bankruptcy Court") confirmed the second amended joint plan of reorganization (the "Plan") of the Company and its direct and indirect subsidiaries that are debtors under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code (the "Debtors").  General Maritime currently expects to emerge from Chapter 11 in May 2012 after the conditions to effectiveness of the Plan are satisfied. 

The Plan reflects the terms of a global settlement among the Company's main creditor constituencies that, among other things, provides for a meaningful recovery to the unsecured creditors of the Debtors and resolves all disputes on plan-related issues between and among the Debtors, funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. and their investment entities (the "Oaktree Funds"), the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (the "Creditors' Committee"), the Company's senior secured lenders, and holders of more than 57% of the Company's Senior Notes.  All voting classes of creditors voted in favor of the Plan, with the Debtors' senior secured lenders voting unanimously in favor of the Plan and approximately 97% in amount and 69% in number of general unsecured creditors voting in favor of the Plan.

The Plan will substantially deleverage the Debtors' balance sheet and position the Debtors to be a financially stronger global enterprise post-emergence.  Through the Plan, (i) the Debtors' financial debt will be reduced by approximately $600 million, (ii) the Debtors' cash interest expense will be reduced by approximately $42 million annually, and (iii) the Debtors will receive a new equity capital infusion of approximately $175 million from the Oaktree Funds.   

Jeffrey D. Pribor, General Maritime's Chief Financial Officer, said, "The confirmation of our Plan represents a major milestone and is one of the last remaining steps in our restructuring.  We are proud of what we have accomplished and believe that, through this process, we will establish a foundation to emerge as a stronger and more competitive company. I would like to thank our customers and vendors for their support throughout this process as well as our employees for their ongoing to commitment to General Maritime." 

Under the Plan, holders of unsecured claims against the Company and its Debtor subsidiaries that guarantee the Company's obligations under its secured credit facilities (the "Guarantor Debtors") will share in $6 million in cash, warrants exercisable for up to three percent of the equity in the reorganized Company, and two percent of the equity in the reorganized Company. The Plan provides that the Debtors' prepetition senior lenders will receive a $75 million paydown of their existing prepetition obligations and provide exit financing to the Debtors.  Funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management will receive 98% of the equity in the reorganized Company for the $175 million equity capital infusion and the conversion of $175 million of secured claims against the Company.  The common stock of the Company will be extinguished under the Plan and holders of the Company's common stock will not receive a distribution under the Plan.

Additional information about General Maritime's financial restructuring is available via the Company's Restructuring Information Hotline at (888) 435-3302 in North America or at (614) 553-1243 internationally.  General Maritime's U.S. Claims Agent also maintains a website containing Bankruptcy Court documents and other updates at www.GMRRestructuring.com.

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP is serving as the Company's legal advisor, and Moelis & Company is serving as the Company's financial advisor.

About General Maritime Corporation

General Maritime Corporation is a leading crude and products tanker company operating principally within the Atlantic basin, which includes ports in the Caribbean, South and Central America, the United States, West Africa, the Mediterranean, Europe, and the North Sea. General Maritime also currently operates tankers in other regions including the Black Sea and Far East. General Maritime owns a fully double-hull fleet of 30 tankers – seven VLCC, eight Aframax, twelve Suezmax, two Panamax, and one product tanker – with a total carrying capacity of approximately 5.2 million dwt.  The Company also has three product tankers that are chartered-in with options to purchase the vessels.  The Company controls tonnage totaling 5.3 million dwt, including the owned fleet and the chartered-in fleet.

"Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and observations.  Included among the factors that, in the Company's view, could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are the following: the satisfaction of the conditions to the consummation of the Plan, as described in the Plan and the Disclosure Statement; the satisfaction of the conditions under the equity purchase agreement, pursuant to which Oaktree-managed funds have agreed to put new capital into the Company; any appeals of the Bankruptcy Court order confirming the Modified Plan in the Chapter 11 cases; whether the Company is able to generate sufficient cash flows to meet its liquidity needs, service its indebtedness and finance the ongoing obligations of its business as contemplated by the Plan, including the extent to which the Company's operating results may continue to be affected by weakness in market conditions and charter rates; the potential adverse effects of the Chapter 11 proceedings on the Company's operations that may continue following consummation, including the Company's ability to maintain contracts that are critical to its operation, to obtain and maintain acceptable terms with its vendors, customers and service providers and to retain key executives, managers and employees; and other factors listed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE General Maritime Corporation