CHAPTER 11 PROCEEDINGS AND EMERGENCE

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

(17)CHAPTER 11 PROCEEDINGS AND EMERGENCE

On July 31, 2017, we and certain of our subsidiaries emerged from bankruptcy after successfully completing our reorganization pursuant to the Second Amended Joint Prepackaged Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization of Tidewater and its Affiliated Debtors (the “Plan”). The Plan was confirmed on July 17, 2017 by the Bankruptcy Court.

During the bankruptcy proceedings from May 17, 2017 (the “Petition Date”) to July 31, 2017, the date of our emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy (the “Effective Date”), the Debtors operated as "debtors-in-possession" in accordance with applicable provisions of the Bankruptcy Code. We operated in the ordinary course of business pursuant to motions filed by the Debtors and granted by the Bankruptcy Court.

Upon our emergence from bankruptcy:

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The lenders under our Fourth Amended and Restated Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of June 21, 2013 (the “Credit Agreement”), the holders of senior notes, and the lessors from whom we leased 16 vessels (the “Sale Leaseback Parties”) (collectively, the “General Unsecured Creditors” and the claims thereof, the “General Unsecured Claims”) received their pro rata share of (a) $225.0 million of cash, (b) subject to the limitations discussed below, common stock and, if applicable, warrants (the “New Creditor Warrants”) to purchase common stock, representing 95% of the common equity in the reorganized company (subject to dilution by a management incentive plan and the exercise of warrants issued to existing stockholders under the Plan as described below); and (c) new 8% fixed rate secured notes due in 2022 in the aggregate principal amount of $350.0 million (the “Secured Notes”).

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Our existing shares of common stock were cancelled. Our existing common stockholders received their pro rata share of common stock representing 5% of the common equity in the reorganized company (subject to dilution by a management incentive plan and the exercise of warrants issued to existing stockholders under the Plan) and six year warrants to purchase additional shares of common stock of the reorganized company. These warrants were issued in two tranches, with the first tranche (the “Series A Warrants”) being exercisable immediately, at an exercise price of $57.06 per share, and the second tranche (the “Series B Warrants”) being exercisable immediately, at an exercise price of $62.28 per share. The Series A Warrants are exercisable for 2.4 million shares of common stock while the Series B Warrants are exercisable for 2.6 million shares of common stock. The Series A Warrants and the Series B Warrants do not grant the holder thereof any voting or control rights or dividend rights, or contain any negative covenants restricting the operation of our business and are subject to the restrictions in our’s new certificate of incorporation that prohibits the exercise of such warrants where such exercise would cause the total number of shares held by non-U.S. citizens to exceed 24%. If, during the six-month period immediately preceding the Series A and Series B Warrants’ termination date, a non-U.S. Citizen is precluded from exercising the warrant because of the foreign ownership limitations, then the holder thereof may exercise and receive, in lieu of shares of common stock, warrants identical in all material respects to the New Creditor Warrants.

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To assure the continuing ability of certain vessels owned by our subsidiaries to engage in U.S. coastwise trade, the number of shares of our common stock that was otherwise issuable to the allowed General Unsecured Creditors was adjusted to assure that the foreign ownership limitations of the United States Jones Act are not exceeded. The Jones Act requires any corporation that engages in coastwise trade be a U.S. citizen within the meaning of that law, which requires, among other things, that the aggregate ownership of common stock by non-U.S. citizens within the meaning of the Jones Act be not more than 25% of its outstanding common stock. The

Plan required that, at the time we emerged from bankruptcy, not more than 22% of the common stock will be held by non-U.S. citizens. To that end, the Plan provided for the issuance of a combination of common stock of the reorganized company and the New Creditor Warrants to purchase common stock of the reorganized company on a pro rata basis to any non-U.S. citizen among the allowed General Unsecured Creditors whose ownership of common stock, when combined with the shares to be issued to existing Tidewater stockholders that are non-U.S. citizens, would otherwise cause the 22% threshold to be exceeded. The New Creditor Warrants do not grant the holder thereof any voting or control rights or dividend rights, or contain any negative covenants restricting the operation of our business. Generally, the New Creditor Warrants are exercisable immediately at a nominal exercise price, subject to restrictions contained in the Warrant Agreement between us and the warrant agent regarding the New Creditor Warrants designed to assure our continuing eligibility to engage in coastwise trade under the Jones Act that prohibit the exercise of such warrants where such exercise would cause the total number of shares held by non-U.S. citizens to exceed 24%. We have established appropriate measures to assure compliance with these ownership limitations.

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The undisputed claims of other unsecured creditors such as customers, employees, and vendors, were paid in full in the ordinary course of business.

We and the Sale Leaseback Parties did not reach an agreement with respect to the amount of the Sale Leaseback Claims until late 2017. Pursuant to such settlements, approximately $233.6 million of additional Sale Leaseback Claims were allowed and emergence consideration was paid to the Sale Leaseback Parties as each claim was settled.