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Katerra, a US construction start-up supported by the SoftBank Vision Fund, filed for bankruptcy with more than $1 billion in debt, becoming the second leading company in the portfolio of the Japanese conglomerate to close down this year.
In a statement, Katerra stated that it had applied for protection from creditors after “the company’s financial situation deteriorated rapidly”. It accused Covid-19, the “unexpected bankruptcy” of its former lender, Greensill Capital, and the inability to obtain new financing. The company stated that it will conduct marketing and sales processes “to maximize value creation for its stakeholders.”
The bankruptcy marks the latest setback for the SoftBank Vision Fund, which has recently performed strongly in the listing of portfolio companies such as Coupang and DoorDash. According to reports, the Vision Fund has invested more than US$2 billion in Katerra, including a cash injection in December as part of a recapitalization.
Katerra was a customer of Greensill, a supply chain finance company backed by SoftBank, which itself closed down earlier this year. Katla did not mention Greensail in the statement.
Katerra was founded in Silicon Valley and raised billions of dollars in an attempt to reduce construction costs by producing building components in factories instead of on-site.
But the company has been struggling to control costs and faced delays in several large projects. Internal plot leads to go away Last May, co-founder Michael Marks (Michael Marks) assumed the position of CEO.
Katerra stated that it has obtained $35 million in debtor-held asset financing from SoftBank, allowing the company to continue operations during the bankruptcy proceedings, and its international business will not be affected by the bankruptcy. The company estimates that its assets are between 500 million and 1 billion U.S. dollars, and its liabilities are between 1 billion and 10 billion U.S. dollars. SoftBank declined to comment.
Court documents in Texas show that Katerra had approximately $1.75 billion in revenue last year. According to LinkedIn, the company has nearly 2,400 employees.
The collapse of Katerra triggered tensions between SoftBank and Credit Suisse, which sold funds that packaged loans initiated by Greensill.
Credit Suisse is trying to recover approximately $440 million in Katerra-related debt held in the fund.Financial Times Report Last week, the Swiss bank was preparing to file a potential lawsuit against SoftBank, one of its main clients, after the collapse of Greensill.
In November last year, SoftBank provided Greensill with an emergency cash injection to repay Katerra’s debt. However, the cash never reached the Credit Suisse Fund as expected, the British “Financial Times” Report.
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