Rabobank Can’t Use ‘Generous’ Loan to Force Coffee Trader Mercon to Liquidate
- Judge tells bankrupt coffee trader to seek better loan terms
- A $20 million loan paid 15%, 3% fee and $3.8 million in costs
The Netherlands-based green coffee supplier filed bankruptcy Dec. 6, listing liabilities of $357 million in its court documents.
Photographer: Jeff Holt/Bloomberg
Mercon Coffee Corp., the bankrupt global coffee trader, must try to negotiate a cheaper way to fund its restructuring case after a US judge rejected a proposed loan from Coöperatieve Rabobank.
Rabobank had agreed to loan Mercon as much as $40 million that would pay about 15% interest, plus an upfront fee of 3% on part of the debt and the payment of $3.8 million in expenses, according to court documents and US Bankruptcy Judge Michael E. Wiles. The loan also included provisions that made it likely Mercon would be forced to liquidate instead of being bought or reorganized, Wiles said.