Exhibit 99
Press Release Issued by Borden Chemicals and Plastics Limited
Partnership on April 3, 2001
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Note to Editors: Borden Chemicals and Plastics Operating Limited Partnership
(BCP) is a separate and distinct entity from Borden, Inc., and its subsidiary,
Borden Chemical, Inc. Please refer to Borden Chemicals and Plastics Operating
Limited Partnership as "BCP" or "Borden Chemicals and Plastics," not as "Borden"
or "Borden Chemicals."
Contact:
John Kompa (614) 224-4600
Edward Howard & Co.
BORDEN CHEMICALS AND PLASTICS OPERATING LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
(BCP) AND BCP FINANCE CORPORATION FILE CHAPTER 11 PETITIONS
BCP continues to explore strategic alternatives
GEISMAR, La. - April 3, 2001 - Borden Chemicals and Plastics Operating Limited
Partnership (BCP) and its subsidiary, BCP Finance Corporation, today filed
voluntary petitions for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code
in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, according to
an announcement by BCP Management, Inc. (BCPM), the general partner of BCP.
BCPM and Borden Chemicals and Plastics Limited Partnership (BCPLP) (NYSE: BCU),
the limited partner of BCP, were not included in the filings. (Two other
separate and distinct entities, Borden, Inc., and its subsidiary, Borden
Chemical, Inc., are not related to the filings.)
BCP, a producer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins, elected to seek bankruptcy
court protection to develop and implement a financial reorganization because,
despite management's continuing efforts to reduce BCP's exposure to natural gas,
depressed resin prices and demand converged with sharply increased energy costs
in the first quarter to create a critical debt and liquidity situation. BCP
believes that it will continue operating normally during the anticipated
reorganization process.
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"BCP, with an estimated 9% of the North American PVC market, remains a focused
PVC player in an industry that, we believe, will recover and have long-term
growth prospects," said Mark J. Schneider, president and chief executive
officer, BCPM.
Schneider added, "We previously announced that we would be exploring strategic
alternatives, including a potential merger, joint venture or asset sales. We
will continue to explore those alternatives in an orderly way during our Chapter
11 reorganization. Unfortunately, at the present time it appears unlikely that
holders of BCPLP's publicly traded units would receive any distribution in
connection with such a transaction or that the units would have any value
following resolution of the Chapter 11 process."
In January 2001, the New York Stock Exchange notified BCPLP that the units did
not meet the continued listing standard of a minimum share price of $1.00 over a
30 trading-day period. In light of the Chapter 11 filings and the likelihood
that the units would have no value following resolution of the Chapter 11
process, there is a substantial likelihood that the units will be delisted.
BCP also announced today that it is seeking immediate bankruptcy court approval
of a $100 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) credit facility, which will provide
up to approximately $20 million of new availability, to be provided by a group
of lenders led by Fleet Capital Corporation. Subject to certain terms and
conditions, BCP anticipates that the DIP financing would be used for employee
salaries and certain benefits, materials and services from vendors, ongoing
operations and other working-capital needs.
"During the reorganization period, BCP intends to maintain its current
operations and will strive to continue to satisfy customers," Schneider said.
"We intend to fulfill our commitment to our employees, taking the steps
necessary to ensure that they continue receiving their compensation as usual
while we operate under court protection."
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Schneider said BCP had recently taken a number of steps, beginning last year, in
an effort to help offset a depressed PVC market and generally worsened economic
conditions. These included:
. Reducing BCP's overall exposure to foreign competition and domestic raw
materials, such as natural gas, by exiting non-PVC operations through the
sale of formaldehyde assets in July, 2000 and the shut down of the
methanol and nitrogen products operations as of January 1, 2001.
. Finalizing a company-wide internal restructuring to become streamlined and
focused on PVC, with projected annualized savings of approximately $5
million.
. Targeting discretionary general and administrative spending for reduction
by several million dollars; with some of these targeted reductions
beginning to be implemented.
Schneider added, "While we had hoped for a modest improvement in resin demand
and prices, the extent of the recovery has been slower than we anticipated and
remains highly dependent on general economic conditions, which continue to be
poor. The outlook for natural gas prices continues to be volatile and strongly
influences BCP's energy and raw material costs, even after the reduction of gas
consumption to the level required to supply only basic energy needs of the
facilities. Like other PVC producers, BCP has been hampered by dramatic
increases in natural gas prices that climbed steadily through January 2001, and
have only moderated slightly since then."
BCP produces PVC resins at its facilities in Geismar, La., also the site of its
headquarters. BCP has additional PVC operations in Addis, La., and Illiopolis,
Ill.
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This press release includes forward-looking statements subject to the "safe
harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our
use of the words "outlook," "intends," "believes," "anticipates," "estimate" and
similar words are intended to identify these statements as forward-looking.
These forward-looking statements represent our current judgment on what the
future holds and are based
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on a number of assumptions and forecasts. Our actual results may be materially
different from those expressed or implied by such statements. While BCPM
believes them to be reasonable, a number of important factors could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected. These factors include
relatively small changes in PVC resin prices or demand; changes in domestic
capacity; changes in raw material and natural gas costs; increased operating
costs; loss of business from major customers; availability of post petition
financing; negative market and credit impact from the Chapter 11 filing;
unanticipated expenses; substantial changes in financial markets; labor unrest;
foreign competition; major equipment failure; unanticipated results in pending
legal proceedings; and other factors.