Energy businesses that are trying to exit bankruptcy are finding a savior in some of their own creditors, which have been scooping up newly issued stock from the companies at hefty discounts, Reuters reported today. More than a dozen so-called rights offerings have raised billions of dollars over the past 18 months, according to data compiled by Reuters, to help revitalize these energy companies in return for large fees and juicy investment returns. But those benefits have not been equally shared among all the creditors providing the cash. The deals are coming under increasing scrutiny by creditors and shareholders in some bankrupt companies over how to divvy the returns, and whether these companies should be looking for a different strategy altogether. Breitburn Energy Partners is a case in point. An official committee representing shareholders hopes to derail a $1 billion rights offering that the company is considering, which would be the biggest such offering in years. In these deals, a company sells newly issued stock — typically discounted around 20 percent to its estimated value — to its creditors, which are usually hedge funds that hold its bonds. The technique has proven lucrative for a select group of hedge funds such as Elliott Management that specialize in distressed investing. From January 2016 to June 2017, 17 of 56 bankrupt publicly-traded energy companies have sought to refinance through a rights offering, according to a Reuters review of court and regulatory filings. By comparison, in 2015, six of the 41 bankrupt publicly traded energy companies did so. Read more.
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