HONG KONGSYDNEY, March 27 Reuters Country Garden has hired Kroll to carry out a liquidation analysis ahead of a court hearing in midMay, according to three sources, as the embattled Chinese developer pushes ahead with its offshore debt restructuring plan.

China39;s biggest private developer is facing a liquidation petition for nonpayment of a 205 million loan, with a court hearing in the case set for May 17.

Companies that are restructuring their debt normally conduct an independent liquidation analysis to assess potential recovery rates for creditors that they can present in court, legal experts said. Peer China Evergrande had picked Deloitte for a liquidation analysis, before a court ordered its winding up in January.

Kroll, the New Yorkheadquartered financial advisory firm, is expected to conduct an independent business review of Country Garden before projecting a recovery rate for the developer39;s creditors under a liquidation scenario, according to the three sources who had direct knowledge of the matter.

In a statement to Reuters, Country Garden said hiring a thirdparty to carry out a liquidation analysis was not related to an actual liquidation. The analysis is one of the documents a company has to submit to court in a restructuring process and also helps creditors make a more rational judgment when they review a restructuring proposal, it added .

Country Garden39;s financial adviser KPMG declined to comment. Kroll did not respond to Reuters queries on…