Ferrellgas Partners LP, whose Blue Rhino propane tank exchange network serves backyard barbecuers across the U.S., filed for bankruptcy to unload debts left over from a failed expansion, Bloomberg News reported. The company sought federal court protection from creditors in Delaware with assets and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million, according to its chapter 11 petition. The debtor is a holding company, but the operating company, Ferrellgas LP, isn’t part of the bankruptcy and will continue to run without interruption. Ferrellgas will remain an employee-owned business and there will be no impact on customers, employees, vendors, suppliers or distributors, according to a spokeswoman. The company has almost 800,000 customers across the U.S. and Puerto Rico and a staff of nearly 5,000 people, according to a Ferrellgas statement. Overland Park, Kansas-based Ferrellgas, burdened with a turbulent propane business and a high debt load, previously said it intended to file for bankruptcy. The holding company debt will be eliminated, more than $1.5 billion of operating company debt will be refinanced, and more than $1 billion of new capital will be raised at the operating company level.
