Houston-based natural gas pipeline Ruby Pipeline LLC received U.S. bankruptcy court approval on Friday for a chapter 11 plan built around a $282 million sale of its assets to Tallgrass Energy LP, Reuters reported. Under the plan, Tallgrass, a Blackstone Group company, will acquire a 680-mile pipeline that is used to transport natural gas from the Rocky Mountains to Northern California and the Pacific Northwest. Ruby Pipeline will use cash from that sale, as well as a $135 million contribution from its equity owners Kinder Morgan Inc and Pembina Pipeline Corp and $162.8 million in its existing cash accounts, to repay creditors and wind down its business. Bankruptcy Judge Craig Goldblatt approved the plan during a court hearing in Wilmington, Delaware. No creditors opposed the plan, and Ruby Pipeline attorney Sunny Singh said at Friday's hearing that the Tallgrass sale "allowed us to resolve all of the disputes in this case." Ruby Pipeline filed for chapter 11 protection on March 31st of last year because it didn’t have enough cash on hand to pay $475 million in unsecured notes that were due on April 1. The company blamed its financial troubles on declining natural gas prices and the subsequent drop in demand for its services.
