Constellis, the Reston, Va.-based parent of U.S. Energy Department contractor Centerra Group, has reached a “forbearance agreement” with certain creditors in order to get some leeway on loan repayment while it works to shore up its balance sheet.
“Constellis recently closed on a $110 million delayed-draw credit facility provided by a subset of its existing lenders,” spokesman Tim Ragones said in an emailed statement Tuesday. As part of the process, the company has “entered into a forbearance agreement, which provides additional time and flexibility to continue discussions around de-levering and recapitalizing our balance sheet for the future.”
Forbearance is an agreement in which a lender holds off on any legal actions to force repayment for a period of time so long as certain conditions are met.
Constellis provides risk security, risk management, and site support to government and private installations internationally. It operates in 30 counties and has 22,000 employees.
The company’s balance sheet recently prompted credit downgrades from the Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s ratings agencies. In addition, CBS news reported Jan. 6 that Constellis could enter bankruptcy reorganization by early February. Constellis had not filed for Chapter 11 reorganization as of Wednesday.
In a Jan. 3 notice, Moody’s said it instituted the ratings downgrade after the $110 million credit agreement was reached Dec. 17 in the form of a revision to Constellis’ existing lien.
During its ongoing discussions with creditors, Constellis plans to “continue to operate our business, execute our business strategy and meet our stakeholder obligations,” Ragones stated. “We look forward to continuing to support our customers through the successful implementation of our sophisticated and specialized DOE/NNSA programs.”
Centerra Group is the security contractor for the DOE Savannah River Site in South Carolina, as well as the minority partner in Hanford Site support services contractor Mission Support Alliance in Washington state. It is also a partner in the team that last month won a new contract potentially worth $4 billion over 10 years to continue to provide site services at Hanford.
