Dune Energy Inc., a Houston-based energy company, has received a bankruptcy judge’s approval to kick off a marketing and sale process, one that aims to keep the business operating while in chapter 11, the Wall Street Journal reported today. During the company’s first appearance in bankruptcy court on Tuesday, Bankruptcy Judge H. Christopher Mott signed off on a series of first-day motions that will ease Dune’s transition into bankruptcy protection, allowing it to pay employees, to access its bank account and to otherwise continue normal operations. Judge Mott also signed an interim order allowing the company to drawn down up to $3 million of a larger $10 million loan from a group of lenders led by Bank of Montreal. A final hearing on the loan is scheduled for April 2. As a condition of the bankruptcy financing, Dune’s senior lenders are requiring that the company put itself up for auction.
