Eurotunnel creditors will vote on a debt restructuring plan for the indebted Anglo-French Channel tunnel operator on Nov. 27, company chief executive Jacques Gounon said on Friday, according to Reuters. "The creditors will vote on the plan on Nov. 27, and the bondholders a week later," he told a news conference. Eurotunnel's debt restructuring is crucial to its survival. Founded in 1986, Eurotunnel ran up massive debts during construction of the Channel tunnel, which opened in 1994. Its business plan got into difficulties when passenger numbers failed to meet its projections. "I believe we have the support of more than half the bond holders and I have no indication that the Ad Hoc committee will not vote in favour of the plan," said Gounon. Gounon said that as far as he knew, Oaktree Capital Management was the only debt holder against its restructuring plan, which will give creditors the lion's share of a new company called Groupe Eurotunnel SA. "To my knowledge only Oaktree has lodged complaints, no other members of the Ad Hoc committee," he said. Eurotunnel was placed under the French version of Chapter 11 at the start of August with 6.2 billion pounds ($11.9 billion) of debt. Last month, it filed a debt restructuring proposal with the Paris Commercial Court to be put to creditors. This plan will cut the debt by more than half, giving creditors up to 87 percent of the equity in the new Eurotunnel company.
