PET packaging producer Constar International (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania / USA; www.constar.net) has emerged from its second US Chapter 11 filing and reorganisation in two years. The company filed for bankruptcy protection on 11 January 2011 and closed this chapter on 31 May. Previously, it had operated under Chapter 11 from 30 December 2008 to 29 May 2009 – see Plasteurope.com of 10.06.2009. Constar, which has subsidiaries in the UK and The Netherlands, had failed to find its feet after the first reorganisation and drifted farther into debt. Parallel to last January’s filing, the stock market authority of the US Nasdaq delisted the company.

Debtor-in-possession noteholders, led by private equity funds managed by Black Diamond Capital Management and Solus Asset Management, are the new owners of the leading North American PET bottle supplier, which has begun its new corporate life as a limited liability company (LLC) under US law. The company also announced that it has entered into a new financing facility with Wells Fargo to provide “ongoing liquidity.”

In a video to announce the second reorganisation, CEO Grant Beard said Constar has emerged from bankruptcy “leaner, meaner and with a clear mandate for growth.” He said the company is now “aggressively marketing” preforms and material licence agreements and has developed a new plan for engaging with customers, including on-site blow moulding. Beard noted also that the new Constar will be in the market for “strategic acquisitions.”