Denbury Resources Inc. got the green light to exit bankruptcy with a plan that hands the oil-and-gas producer to creditors and cuts $2.1 billion in bond debt, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Bankruptcy Judge David R. Jonesapproved Denbury’s prepackaged chapter 11 plan during a hearing on Wednesday. The plan had broad creditor support and calls for the company’s second-lien bond and convertible notes to be exchanged for nearly all of the equity in the reorganized company. The company’s lenders are also providing $615 million in exit financing to help it leave chapter 11. Fidelity Management & Research Co. and GoldenTree Asset Management LP, both major holders of Denbury bond debt, will pick some members of the company’s new board under the plan. Other bondholders backing the plan include Cyrus Capital Partners LP and J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc., court papers say. Plano, Texas-based Denbury filed for bankruptcy protection in July, one of several energy companies pushed into chapter 11 over the past six months by the market downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic and a drop in oil prices due to a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Before the pandemic, Denbury had been exploring ways to address its debt load outside bankruptcy court. The company listed $3.1 billion in total debt when it filed for chapter 11 protection.
