A bankruptcy judge moved to delay a trial over Washington Prime Group Inc.’s restructuring plan, a win for shareholders who say the mall operator might be worth more than the plan implies, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. At a court hearing yesterday, lawyers for Washington Prime and attorneys representing its official committee of shareholders said they agreed to postpone the trial by 2½ weeks, until late August. At the trial, the two sides will present the bankruptcy judge with competing views of the company’s value. Washington Prime filed for bankruptcy last month with a plan to hand ownership to lenders and bondholders led by investment firm Strategic Value Partners in exchange for debt forgiveness. The mall operator said other interested bidders would need to offer a minimum of $2.3 billion. Shareholders say that Washington Prime is rushing the restructuring and that with the COVID-19 pandemic abating and customers returning to in-person shopping, the business might be worth enough to satisfy all its debt obligations and provide a bigger return to its shareholders. The proposed restructuring gives shareholders the choice of dividing among themselves $40 million in cash or as much as 6.1% of shares in the restructured company, as long as they vote in favor of the plan. That is a better outcome for equity than in most bankruptcy cases, which typically leave nothing for shareholders.
