A subsidiary of cocoa-trading house Transmar Group, which supplies Hershey Co., Nestlé SA and other big chocolate makers, has filed for bankruptcy protection, blaming its financial problems partly on the U.K. vote to exit from the European Union, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Transmar Commodity Group Ltd., the company’s U.S. arm, filed for chapter 11 on Saturday to restructure debts of more than $413 million, court papers say. The company’s financial woes flow primarily from wrong-way bets on the price of cocoa made by the Transmar Group’s troubled European operation, Euromar Commodities GmbH, according to Deloitte’s Robert Frezza in a declaration filed with the bankruptcy court. Mr. Frezza was retained by Transmar Commodity Group to serve as the company’s chief restructuring officer.
