Verso skips bond payment, hopes to restructure debt

Verso Paper Holdings has elected to delay payment on a bond in hopes of renegotiating debt.

Verso said Friday it was exercising a 30-day grace period instead of making the payments on two bonds worth $1.34 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Also, Verso said its NewPage unit skipped an interest payment Thursday on a $731 million loan. It only has a grace period of five business days in that case.

In November, Verso announced it was looking for ways to restructure its balance sheet and raise funds to meet financial obligations. That included the possible sale of its Androscoggin Mill and related hydroelectric facilities.

Earlier in January, Verso announced that it sold Verso Androscoggin Power, which has four hydroelectric generation facilities associated with its Androscoggin Mill, to a New Jersey company.

The company shut down a paper machine and pulp dryer last year and announced a reduction of its workforce by 300 people, either through layoffs or early retirement, by Dec. 31, 2015. That was expected to leave about 560 workers at the mill.