Wood Pellet Maker Enviva Misses Bond Payment

By Alexander Gladstone
The Wall Street Journal
January 16, 2024
Category: Business & Politics
Region: United States, US East

BETHESDA, Maryland — Enviva, the largest U.S. wood pellet exporter, is skipping a $24 million payment due to its bondholders Tuesday, according to a securities filing, as it continues restructuring discussions in the wake of a disastrous bet on future pellet prices. The company now has 30 days to make the bond payment before the failure to pay constitutes an event of default. Enviva said last year that it had been buying pellets and aiming to resell them for more. That strategy became perilous when pellet prices fell, leaving the company on the hook to pay $296.3 million last year for 800,000 metric tons of wood pellets that would only be worth $156.9 million on the open market, according to a securities filing. …Shares dropped 7% on Tuesday to 84 cents. They traded above $87 in April 2022. [to access the full story a WSJ subscription is required]

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