Private-equity firm Centerbridge Partners LP has increased its offer to buy Speedcast International Ltd. out of bankruptcy to $500 million, two months after another top creditor of the Australian satellite-communications company floated a competing offer for the business, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Centerbridge’s offer, up from an earlier commitment of $395 million, is part of a broader reorganization proposal backed by the private-equity firm that has the support of Speedcast’s board and a committee representing the company’s unsecured creditors, according to papers filed Saturday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. Speedcast’s largest lender, Black Diamond Capital Management LLC, in August moved to top Centerbridge’s initial offer and sought more information on decisions made by management surrounding the sale process. Publicly traded Speedcast said in a court filing that even with the Centerbridge offer in hand, it would continue looking for better bids as it works to exit bankruptcy. A bankruptcy judge is scheduled to consider approving Speedcast’s chapter 11 plan in December, and the company expects to leave bankruptcy during the first quarter of 2021, subject to court and regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
