A committee of bondholders who have gone unpaid by Ampal American Israel Corp. received the power to lead collection efforts on a $20 million loan the company made to an affiliate to construct a sugarcane ethanol-producing plant in Colombia, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. The struggling plant failed to repay the loan by a Dec. 31 deadline, leading the bondholder committee to pressure the Ampal American leaders to begin collection efforts that could recover money for Ampal American, a holding company for energy investments and real estate holdings throughout the Middle East.
