A U.S. judge overseeing the bankruptcy of Linn Energy LLC said yesterday that he is prepared to confirm its restructuring plan with slight tweaks, backing the oil-and-gas producer's goal of shedding $5.5 billion in debt and splitting into two companies, Reuters reported. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones at the end of a hearing in Houston congratulated Linn's legal team and lawyers for working with its key stakeholders, noting that the company would have faced a hard time trying to restructure had they not agreed on the plan. Judge Jones added that he expects a final version of the plan to be filed with him by today. Linn filed for bankruptcy in May and had been negotiating with stakeholders in recent months on how best to split assets with its Berry Petroleum Co LLC subsidiary. In 2013, Linn acquired Berry for $4.3 billion, creating one of the largest independent energy producers. Under Linn's plan, Berry will become an independent company. Linn will shed nearly $4.3 billion of the roughly $6 billion in debt it had when it filed for bankruptcy. Berry will cut nearly $1.2 billion of its $1.7 billion in pre-petition debt. Read more.
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