Goodrich Petroleum Corp. received conditional approval Thursday evening of a new $40 million exit financing package, putting the oil and gas producer back on course to restructure its assets, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur approved the financing commitment, conditioned on Goodrich reaching a deal with unsecured creditors, resolving their objections, by Friday at 5 p.m. CT. If no deal is reached, the approval will be withdrawn and Judge Isgur will hold a full hearing on the financing. The unsecured creditors’ committee had objected specifically to the fees associated with the financing, adding that the restructuring agreement Goodrich plans to put forth is both “coercive” to unsecured creditors and “too rich for other parties.” Judge Isgur said he agreed with the unsecured creditors’ position on the fees and signaled that he wouldn’t approve the financing unless the objection from unsecured creditors was resolved. Rather than address the fee issue directly, Goodrich is near a deal with unsecured creditors that involves improved treatment under Goodrich’s bankruptcy-exit plan, in exchange for the committee’s agreement to pull their objection.
