Enviva, the largest U.S. wood pellet exporter, is skipping a $24 million payment due to its bondholders yesterday, according to a securities filing, as it continues restructuring discussions in the wake of a disastrous bet on future pellet prices, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The company now has 30 days to make the bond payment before the failure to pay constitutes an event of default. Enviva is conducting a review of alternatives to address its capital structure and liquidity needs, the company has said. Bethesda, Md.-based 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. The company said at the time that it expected roughly $140 million in additional loss over the next two years based on current prices for future deliveries of pellets.
