Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey said yesterday that shareholders of Exide Technologies, a 125-year-old battery manufacturer, are close to being wiped out and don’t need a court-approved committee to help them fight a reorganization plan that would pay them nothing, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Judge Carey ruled yesterday that shareholders shouldn’t be given an official committee, with legal bills paid by Exide, because they didn’t present evidence that the company is worth enough to pay all its debts and still have something for them. Exide, based in Milton, Ga., filed for bankruptcy last year after state regulators shut down its lead-recycling plant in Vernon, Calif. The closing forced Exide to speed up its restructuring plans by hiring law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and financial adviser Alvarez & Marsal North America LLC, according to court records. This is Exide’s second trip through bankruptcy. The company reorganized in 2004, winning court permission to eliminate $1.3 billion in debt in exchange for giving lenders about 90 percent of its stock. The other 10 percent went to unsecured creditors.
