Coal miner Walter Energy Inc. reached a settlement with creditors after a bankruptcy judge said that the case would “crash and burn” if an agreement wasn’t secured, Bloomberg News reported today. The accord with a committee of first-lien lenders and the unsecured creditors’ committee allows the company to move forward with the scheduled Jan. 5 auction of its assets. The opening bid is an offer by lenders to exchange $1.25 billion in debt and $5.4 million cash for assets. Under the global settlement, the stalking-horse bidder agreed to assume up to $122 million in liabilities as part of the sale, unsecured creditors will get a 1 percent equity in the buyer, according to court documents. The unsecured creditors said that it would agree to the sale motion.
