Trade finance company Raistone, a creditor of First Brands, is nearing a deal to sell itself to investment firm Marblegate Asset Management, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Raistone, Marblegate, and Seaport did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Raistone became heavily dependent on arranging financing for First Brands, which has since filed for bankruptcy, the report added.
Seaport Global, an investment banking and trading firm that also owns a stake in Raistone, has been running a sales process, according to the report.
In October, Raistone asked a court to appoint an independent examiner, claiming that as much as $2.3 billion “simply vanished” from First Brands.
First Brands filed for bankruptcy protection in September after its lenders began investigating irregularities in the company’s financial reporting.
Last month, a U.S. bankruptcy judge ordered an independent investigation into the auto parts maker, allocating a $7 million budget to probe allegations of fraud involving First Brands’s use of third-party financing for customer invoices.
The collapse of First Brands has rattled debt investors and sparked concerns of broader stress in corporate debt markets, especially about rising risks in private credit, where lending activity has surged in recent years.
New York-headquartered Raistone is a financial technology firm that provides embedded working capital and trade finance solutions for businesses and investors.
Source: Reuters.com