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Patriot Coal Completes Chapter 11 Process

Submitted by jhartgen@abi.org on Fri, 2015-10-30 00:00

Patriot Coal Corporation announced that its reorganization plan became effective yesterday, marking the successful completion of the chapter 11 restructuring process, ABL Advisor reported. In conjunction with the plan becoming effective, Patriot has completed the transactions to sell most of Patriot's operating assets to Blackhawk Mining, LLC and to sell substantially all of its remaining assets and liabilities to an affiliate of Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund, Inc. Centerview Partners LLC is serving as financial advisor and investment banker for Patriot, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to Patriot. Alvarez & Marsal is serving as Chief Restructuring Officer for Patriot.

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Business Reorganization

Friday, October 30, 2015 - 12:00

Patriot Coal Wins Court Approval of Plan to Hand Over Mines

Submitted by ckanon@abi.org on Fri, 2015-10-09 00:00

Patriot Coal Corp. won confirmation of its chapter 11 debt repayment plan, clearing the way for the company to hand over its mines to new owners in an effort to preserve the business amid widespread distress in the coal industry, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips said that he would approve Patriot’s chapter 11 plan as a “largely consensual plan and the result of extensive, comprehensive negotiations.” The plan proposes to sell Patriot’s mines to Blackhawk Mining LLC and a unit of nonprofit Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund, which are not offering cash for the assets but instead would issue new debt or take responsibility for existing Patriot debts. The company has eight mining complexes, all in West Virginia. An attorney for Patriot said that the plan is the “embodiment of thousands of hours of work” to achieve the best possible outcome for creditors as well as Patriot’s miners and other employees. The company faced a raft of creditor objections to the plan, but was able to resolve many of them before it presented the plan for court approval at a hearing that began Wednesday and continued into Thursday.

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Plan Confirmation

Business Reorganization

Friday, October 9, 2015 - 12:00

Caesars Unit Seeks More Time for Bankruptcy Plan

Submitted by ckanon@abi.org on Fri, 2015-10-09 00:00

The debt-heavy subsidiary of casino giant Caesars Entertainment Corp. is again asking a federal court to give it more time to file its bankruptcy plan to get out from under $10 billion of its $18.4 billion in debt, The Associated Press reported today. Lawyers for Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. filed a motion this week to move the deadline from Nov. 15 to March 15. The company wants until May to get creditors on board. The company has 80 percent of its first-priority debt holders on board but still needs its junior creditors to agree. The company won an extension last May. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 21 to consider the extension.

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Plan Confirmation

Hospitality, Entertainment Venues and Gaming

Friday, October 9, 2015 - 12:00

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Plan Confirmation

Patriot Coal Delays Bankruptcy Plan Hearing for Creditor Talks

Submitted by ckanon@abi.org on Wed, 2015-10-07 00:00

Patriot Coal Corp. continued to negotiate with creditors on Tuesday and postponed a key bankruptcy court hearing until Wednesday to try to reach a deal to end its chapter 11, Reuters reported yesterday. Patriot's lead attorney told Judge Keith L. Phillips that he had reached agreement with all but one key objector to Patriot's chapter 11 plan and was confident an agreement with all the creditors could be reached. The hearing was scheduled to resume at 11:30 a.m ET Wednesday. West Virginia-based Patriot Coal has said that it is running low on cash and needed court approval for its reorganization plan to avoid a liquidation. The plan is centered on selling the bulk of its mines and coal reserves to privately held Blackhawk Mining of Lexington, Ky. Creditors have objected and one group of lenders asked the court to convert the bankruptcy to a chapter 7 liquidation, which could mean shutting down the business and selling it piecemeal.

In related news, Patriot Coal Corp. has issued a new Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice to its employees, Reuters reported yesterday. Patriot Coal expects to lay off more than 2,000 workers in West Virginia and the notice from Patriot Coal extended the period from the original WARN notice issued on Aug. 3, 2015, because of a delay in Patriot's bankruptcy case. The company has also asked the judge to allow it to reject its collective bargaining agreement with the United Mine Workers of America, which has been negotiating with Blackhawk to maintain some benefits. The case is Patriot Coal Corp., U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Virginia, No. 15-32450. Read more.

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Plan Confirmation

Business Reorganization

Wednesday, October 7, 2015 - 12:00

Bankruptcy Code

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Energy Future Gets Court Approval for Chapter 11 Support Pact

Submitted by jhartgen@abi.org on Fri, 2015-09-18 00:00

Energy Future Holdings Corp. got the nod from a bankruptcy judge Thursday to sign a pact with creditors that pledged to support a path out of chapter 11, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Approval from Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi gets Energy Future over the first hurdle in a process that is designed to split the company in two, pay off creditors with equity or cash, and bring the company’s chapter 11 proceeding to a close. Energy Future’s chapter 11 exit proposal still faces a couple of rounds of court tests and a review by tax and energy regulators.

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Asset Sales

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