Drugmaker Endo misses $38 million interest payment amid bankruptcy talks

Endo International

30/06/2022 17:00

By Dietrich Knauth
    June 30 (Reuters) - Drugmaker Endo International  ENDP.O 
said on Thursday it has missed a $38 million interest payment,
amid discussions with a group of unsecured bondholders that have
urged the company to avoid filing for bankruptcy. 
    Endo, which has been weighed down by litigation over the
opioid epidemic in the United States, has discussed the
possibility of filing for bankruptcy protection in several
recent public filings. 
    Other pharmaceutical companies that have filed for Chapter
11 to address opioid claims include Purdue Pharma, the maker of
OxyContin, and Mallinckrodt PLC  MCDG.MU , a generic opioid
manufacturer that recently emerged from bankruptcy. 
    Dublin, Ireland-based Endo said in a Thursday filing with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the missed loan
payment will not immediately impact daily operations because the
company has $1.4 billion in liquidity. The missed payment
triggers a 30 day window before an official default on its loan.
    Endo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
    A group of unsecured bondholders has recently formed to
lobby the company to stay out of bankruptcy. The group said on
Monday it has proposed alternate restructuring options,
including a cash tender offer or a debt-for-debt exchange, that
would reduce Endo's interest expenses without the disruption of
a Chapter 11 filing.
    Endo has reported $660 million of total funded debt
maturities through the end of March 2027. 
    State and local governments have filed more than 3,000
lawsuits against drugmakers, distributors and pharmacies
alleging they helped fuel the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic.
Opioids were involved in more than 80,000 overdose deaths in
2021, according to statistics produced by the White House office
of drug control policy.
    Endo has settled opioid lawsuits brought by several states
in recent months, agreeing to pay $65 million to Florida, $26
million to West Virginia, and $25 million to Alabama. 

 (Reporting by Dietrich Knauth, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and
Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
 ((Dietrich.Knauth@thomsonreuters.com;))