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Lenders took aim at Valaris PLC’s $7.1 billion restructuring plan at the London-based offshore contractor’s debut chapter 11 hearing, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Representatives for Valaris’s revolving credit lender along with shareholders told Judge Marvin Isgur at a hearing yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston that they planned to file objections to the company’s restructuring plan. Valaris, which filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, says that the proposed restructuring agreement has the backing of about half of its bondholders. The plan would reduce its liabilities by more than 90 percent, leaving it with what it says would be one of the industry’s healthiest balance sheets. The offshore oil services contractor, which owns and operates a fleet of drilling rigs and ships, brought in more than $2 billion in revenue last year. It received approval yesterday for various routine motions, including permission to honor its customer contracts. The company said its contracts are expected to generate about $1.4 billion in revenue. It has about 60 rigs and operates in nearly every major offshore oil and gas market.

Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd bondholders have withdrawn plans for a proposed recapitalization of the airline that was meant to rival one from U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital, a spokesman for the bondholders said today, Reuters reported. Singapore’s Broad Peak and Hong Kong’s Tor Investment Management, which had proposed the rival deed of company arrangement (DOCA) to recapitalise the airline, hold around A$300 million ($216 million) of Virgin’s A$2 billion of unsecured bonds, part of nearly A$7 billion owed to creditors. A court ruling this week makes it impossible to complete due diligence and present a substantially unconditional DOCA proposal to rival Bain’s at a creditors’ meeting on Sept. 4, the spokesman for the bondholders said. Virgin Australia is in voluntary administration, the closest Australian equivalent to chapter 11 bankruptcy provisions used to restructure companies in the U.S. Administrator Deloitte plans to issue a report to creditors on Aug. 25 outlining the return they should expect under the Bain deal, which has not yet been made public.

Mexican carrier Aeromexico, which filed for chapter 11 protection in the U.S. at the end of June, said it has reached an agreement with the holders of its short term stock certificates, Reuters reported. Aeromexico said in a statement on Tuesday that holders of its AEROMEX01119, AEROMEX01219, AEROMEX00120 and AEROMEX00220 stock certificates agreed to a “waiting period” of up to 12 months during which they will not require payments from Aeromexico. “As part of the agreement reached, Aeromexico agreed to recognize the outstanding debt under the instruments through the formal restructuring process under chapter 11 (and) provide information on the progress of the restructuring process,” said the firm.

Quebec’s pension fund said it spent $75 million in February to double its stake in Cirque du Soleil Entertainment, an investment it was forced to write off in June when the company filed for bankruptcy protection, Bloomberg News reported. Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec’s decision to buy an additional 10 percent of the live performance company from founder Guy Laliberte came after months of discussions with shareholders, Caisse Chief Executive Officer Charles Emond said Monday. The fund spent $71 million for its initial 10 percent stake in 2015, he told a panel of lawmakers in Quebec City. Neither amount had been previously disclosed. “With the additional 10 percent we suddenly had more rights about being consulted, having a weight, a greater influence” on debt levels and future shareholders, Emond said. Montreal-based Caisse said this month it wrote off its entire $170 million investment in Cirque, which includes some debt, after the coronavirus forced it to shut down all its shows around the globe. The company is recapitalizing under court protection, with a deadline for bids set for tomorrow. A committee of creditors has the leading bid so far.

Sweden’s Debt Office said today that it has refused a state credit guarantee for Norwegian Air, renewing liquidity concerns for the struggling airline amid the coronavirus crisis, Reuters reported. Norwegian Air was already facing financial difficulties before the pandemic hit and Sweden has stipulated its credit guarantees, under a programme mitigating the impact of COVID-19, can only be granted to airlines assessed to have been financially viable on the last day of 2019. “The Debt Office’s assessment in regard to Norwegian is that as of 31 December 2019 there was a very high risk that Norwegian would not be able to fulfil its financial commitments and that the company was not deemed capable then of managing further indebtedness,” it said in a statement. “Therefore, the company has not been considered financially viable as of 31 December 2019. Accordingly, Norwegian’s application has been denied.” While there will be no immediate impact on the airline, it has indicated it would need more cash to rebuild after the coronavirus crisis hit its operations hard. The group received emergency financial guarantees from the Norwegian government in May, but only after raising cash from owners and forcing creditors to convert part of the debt to equity.

Mexican carrier Aeromexico, which filed for chapter 11 protection in the United States at the end of June, said yesterday that it has lined up $1 billion in debtor-in-possession financing with Apollo Global Management Inc., Reuters reported. The DIP facility consists of two tranches and can only be used for certain expenses, including working capital expenses, general corporate purposes and restructuring costs. The DIP facility, still subject to bankruptcy court approval and other agreements, will provide Aeromexico with liquidity to meet its future obligations in a timely and orderly fashion, and to continue with operations during and after the restructuring process, the firm said.

Mexican retailer Grupo Famsa on Thursday said that a shareholder meeting authorized a request to file for chapter 15 protection in the U.S. and bankruptcy in Mexico, Reuters reported. “The presentation of both applications has been carried out before the competent jurisdictional authorities,” the retailer said in a filing to the Mexican stock exchange. “Grupo Famsa will seek to reach an agreement and a comprehensive solution by restructuring its liabilities through dialogue with creditors so as to strengthen its financial situation, safeguarding its interests and those of creditors.”

Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. filed for chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. yesterday after telling a London court it was set to run out of cash next month if a pending rescue deal isn’t approved, Bloomberg News reported. The airline filed its petition in the Southern District of New York. Chapter 15 allows foreign companies with U.S. assets to protect themselves against claims while they work on a turnaround plan at home. The company had said during proceedings in the U.K. that it planned to apply for the U.S. protection while it finalizes a rescue plan that’s already supported by a majority of its stakeholders. Virgin is seeking to secure a a 1.2 billion-pound ($1.6 billion) rescue, which was announced in July. Since Jan. 1, Virgin’s reservations are down 89 percent year-over-year and demand for the second half of 2020 is at approximately 25 percent of 2019 levels, according to court papers. Virgin’s restructuring plan in the U.K. depends on the approval of its chapter 15 filing in the U.S., the company said in its court filing. Without the plan, there’s uncertainty as to whether Virgin could get enough creditor support to implement its restructuring in time to avoid going into formal insolvency proceedings, according to the filing.