Clarksons Platou: Hornbeck debt swap a "first step"

A $200 debt-swap plan by US OSV owner Hornbeck Offshore Services (HOS) is a "first step" in addressing maturity issues, according to Clarksons Platou Securities.

The company announced an offer on Tuesday to exchange some of its 2020 notes for new loans maturing in 2025 at higher interest rates.

Turner Holm, Clarksons Platou Securities' managing director of equity and credit research, said that, for shareholders, the deal would modestly extend optionality, though a hurdle would still remain in April 2020.