Venoco Inc. won bankruptcy-court approval yesterday for a restructuring plan that will slash nearly $1 billion in debt from the oil and gas producer’s books, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross confirmed Venoco’s chapter 11 plan of reorganization, paving the way for the Denver-based company to exit bankruptcy protection. Smoothing the way for Venoco to secure the court’s approval was an early settlement of potential legal claims by one major bondholder and a last-minute deal to resolve the objections to the restructuring from two other bondholders. Amid the decline in oil and gas prices, Venoco sought chapter 11 protection in March after securing support for its restructuring from secured bondholders Apollo Capital Management and MAST Capital Management. Apollo, a unit of New York-based Apollo Global Management, and Boston-based MAST agreed to forgive some $339 million in first- and second-lien bond debt in exchange for most of the new equity in the restructured Venoco. Apollo representatives are also slated to get three of the company’s four board seats when it leaves bankruptcy, Venoco lawyer Robert Burns said at yesterday’s hearing. Read more. (Subscription required.)
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