PG&E Corp. is facing rising dissatisfaction with its handling of massive fire damage claims in bankruptcy as another creditor group demanded the embattled utility relinquish control over repayment terms, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The development cuts against shareholders eager to preserve the value of their stakes in PG&E. Swamped by damage claims stemming from blazes linked to PG&E equipment, the company filed for chapter 11 in January and has drawn up a proposal to pay off billions of dollars in fire liabilities. Large shareholders are backing PG&E’s bankruptcy exit plan and many of them have committed to help fund the $14 billion the utility expects to need to bail itself out. But bondholders including Elliott Management Corp. and Värde Partners are floating a competing chapter 11 exit strategy under an alliance with victims of the wildfires. The rival plan leaves current shareholders with a sliver of value while treating wildfire claimants better than PG&E has proposed. A new wave of court filings on Tuesday from unsecured creditors, ratepayer advocates and the union representing about 11,000 PG&E workers supported stripping PG&E of its exclusive right to fix restructuring terms. One large group of fire victims also filed papers asking the court to hold the door wide open to anyone with money to help PG&E hit a June 2020 deadline for participating in a statewide wildfire fund.
