Less than two months after entering Chapter 11 protection, Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. won court approval yesterday of a reorganization plan that cuts $975 million in debt from its balance sheet, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The approval from Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane largely concludes what an attorney for Eagle Bulk said was a year-long process to restructure the dry bulk shipper's finances. Under its uncontested, pre-packaged bankruptcy plan, Eagle Bulk's lenders, who are owed $1.2 billion, will convert their debt into 99.5 percent of the new equity in the reorganized company and receive a cash distribution. Current equity will be canceled, with those equity holders receiving the remaining 0.5 percent in new stock, along with seven-year warrants to acquire another 7.5 percent of new equity.
