Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Bankruptcy Court News

Maxeon will try to stop SunPower's asset sale

Maxeon, a solar panel manufacturer, said it would object to the sale of SunPower assets by a bankruptcy court because it claims to own the rights to use SunPower's brand outside the United States. SunPower, the pioneer of residential solar energy, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this month. It is now looking to sell a number of its assets for $45,000,000 to Complete Solaria, a rival. This sale could be stopped if a court determines that SunPower has no right to sell its assets. Maxeon spun off from SunPower 2020.

Buyers Reportedly Line-up for a Crack at Seadrill

© Elnur/AdobeStock

Noble Corp and a consortium that includes Transocean Ltd and Dolphin Drilling are competing to acquire the assets of Seadrill Ltd, the bankrupt offshore oil driller controlled by Norwegian-born tycoon John Fredriksen, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.Seadrill is trying to emerge from its second U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy in four years: like many in the industry, it expanded its drilling rigs too aggressively in the mid-2010s to withstand a subsequent plunge in energy prices and rig hire rates.

Shale Pioneer Chesapeake Energy Files for Bankruptcy

Image Credit: Nightman1965 / AdobeStock

Chesapeake Energy Corp filed for Chapter 11 on Sunday, becoming the largest U.S. oil and gas producer to seek bankruptcy protection in recent years as it bowed to heavy debts and the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on energy markets.The filing marks an end of an era for the Oklahoma City-based shale pioneer, and comes after months of negotiations with creditors. Reuters first reported in March the company had retained debt advisers.Chesapeake was co-founded by Aubrey McClendon…

Fire-Damaged Philadelphia Oil Refinery Heads for Auction

© skyNext / Adobe Stock

The fate of the largest East Coast oil refinery is set to be decided on Friday in an auction that could determine whether the Philadelphia plant is restarted or used for a different purpose for the first time in over a century.The refinery's owner, Philadelphia Energy Solutions, is scheduled to reveal the winning bidder on Wednesday during a hearing at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, which will need to approve the sale.PES fell into bankruptcy on July 21…

Kinder Morgan: Bankrupt Refiner Owes $1.5 mln

Adobestock / © mikesjc

Kinder Morgan Liquids Terminals LLC says Philadelphia Energy Solutions failed to make payments for fuel storage and other services totaling nearly $1.5 million since December, roughly seven months before the Pennsylvania refiner filed for bankruptcy.In a Wednesday filing, Kinder asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to allow it to sell fuel stored by PES at its Carteret, New Jersey, facility to pay itself back for the missed payments.PES, which shut its last crude unit this week…

US Energy Investors Eye Cheap Takeovers as Oil Prices Sink

© tarasov_vl / Adobe Stock

Sinking oil prices are turning distressed US energy companies into takeover targets for opportunistic private investors who are prepared to offer expensive debt in return for ownership stakes, as the sector struggles to access traditional forms of bank financing.A slowing global economy and fears of excess oil supply sent the benchmark crude oil index spiraling to as low as US$53 in October from a 14-year high of US$86 earlier that month. Brent Crude was US$58.18 on Tuesday.High operating costs have also reduced oil and gas companies’ margins and free cash flow…

Harvey Gulf Emerges From Chapter 11 Proceedings

Harvey Gulf International Marine announced that it has completed its financial restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy proceedings. This marks the completion of the Plan of Reorganization approved by the bankruptcy court, 77 days following Harvey Gulf’s prepackaged filing. Under the reorganization, Harvey Gulf has shed approximately $1 Billion in debt and emerges with a dramatically de-leveraged balance sheet. Additionally, the Company has kept its commitments to its trade vendors, paying all unsecured claims in full.

Bankrupt Breitburn Rebuffs $1.8 bln Bid

U.S. oil and gas producer Breitburn Energy Partners LP, which has been in bankruptcy since 2016, does not plan to pursue an unsolicited $1.8 billion cash offer from Lime Rock Resources, according to court filings. The offer from Houston-based Lime Rock, which invests in oil-and-gas properties, surfaced last month as Breitburn was awaiting a ruling on its bankruptcy reorganization plan. The confirmation hearing ended in January after a bitter valuation battle between Breitburn and its shareholders who argued it undervalued the company. In a filing with U.S.

Seadrill Postpones Restructuring Hearing

Drilling rig company Seadrill said in a court filing it postponed an initial hearing on its restructuring plan to Feb. 26, buying more time to consider alternative plans. Seadrill, one of the world's largest offshore drilling rig operators, filed for bankruptcy in September after a steep drop in crude prices caused drastic cutbacks in oil company investment. The company, controlled by Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen, had been working with creditors on a restructuring plan to bring in more than $1 billion in fresh funding…

Seadrill Postpones Court Hearing for Restructuring Talks

(Photo: Seadrill)

Drilling rig company Seadrill said in a court filing it postponed an initial hearing on its restructuring plan to Feb. 7, which sources told Reuters will give the company more time to consider alternative restructuring plans. Once the largest drilling rig operator by market value, Seadrill filed for bankruptcy protection in Texas on Sept. 12 after being hit hard by cutbacks in oil company investment following a steep drop in crude prices. Wednesday's court filing also said the deadline for objecting to Seadrill's plan had been extended to Feb.

Seadrill Bondholders Post Cash Deposit for Rival Restructuring

(Photo: Seadrill)

Owners of unsecured bonds in rig firm Seadrill have posted a cash deposit to back an alternative financial restructuring, paving the way for talks with the drilling operator over its future, the two sides said on Monday. Seadrill, once the largest drilling rig operator by market value, filed for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court on Sept. 12 after being hit hard by cutbacks in oil company investment following a steep drop in crude prices. The company's main owner…

Subsea 7 Acquires EMAS Chiyoda Subsea Assets

Subsea 7 S.A. said it has acquires certain businesses of EMAS Chiyoda Subsea (ECS) under a U.S. bankruptcy code Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization, confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas and became effective on June 29, 2017. According to Subsea 7, it will pay less than $100 million in aggregate, including its contribution to the Debtor in Possession credit facility, to acquire the ECS businesses, the Ingleside spoolbase and other assets.

Ocean RIG Files for Bankruptcy Protection in US

Photo: Ocean RIG

Rig contractor Ocean RIG UDW Inc filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court amid a deep and prolonged downturn in the industry. Shares of the company plunged 36.4 percent to 46 cents in early trading on Tuesday. The Cyprus-based company, which had $3.25 billion in debt as of Dec. 31, filed for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of New York on Monday. Under U.S. bankruptcy laws, Chapter 15 grants a foreign company protection from creditors looking to seize its assets in the country.

Peabody, Shareholders Face Off in Bankruptcy Court

Peabody Energy Corp , the world's largest  private-sector coal producer, is squaring off in court with shareholders who claim their stock should not be wiped out in the company's $8 billion Chapter 11 bankruptcy, given a rise in prices for the fuel. Shareholders led by hedge fund Mangrove Partners hope to prove at a hearing in St. Louis on Thursday that Peabody may be the rare bankruptcy where a company's assets are valuable enough to repay creditors and have money left over for stockholders.

Peabody Extends Financing Deadlines after Creditor Lawsuit

Peabody Energy Corp said on Thursday the deadline for creditors to join financing deals aimed at bringing the largest U.S. coal miner out of bankruptcy had been extended after large investors sued to slow the process. Last week, Peabody unveiled its plan to eliminate more than $5 billion of debt and raise capital from creditors with a $750 million private placement and a $750 million rights offering. The financing agreements were funded by key creditors that signed on to a plan support agreement with Peabody…

Paragon Offshore Eyes Options after Court Denies Bankruptcy Plan

Paragon Offshore Plc said on Friday it was evaluating its options after a U.S. judge rejected the offshore rig contractor's plan to exit bankruptcy, an unusual setback for a corporate Chapter 11 proceeding. In an oral ruling in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware, Judge Christopher Sontchi said the plan was not feasible because it removes too much cash from the company during the current downturn. The ruling does not preclude the company from a restructuring under a different plan, he said.

Hanjin: Cargo Owners Withholding $80 mln

Failed South Korean container carrier Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd told a U.S. judge on Friday that cargo owners were withholding up to $80 million in payments for completed shipments, complicating the company's ability to move stranded freight. "Hanjin is not the only bad guy here," Ilana Volkov, an attorney for the shipping company, said at a status hearing at a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, New Jersey. Hanjin lawyers said that many cargo owners had received their goods on credit but have yet to pay the shipping company.

SunEdison's Yieldcos Exploring Strategic Options, Including Sale

TerraForm Global Inc and TerraForm Power Inc, the "yieldcos" of bankrupt solar company SunEdison Inc, said on Monday they were exploring strategic alternatives, including a sale of their entire business. TerraForm Power's shares were up 3.4 percent at $13.49 in early trading, while TerraForm Global was up 7.4 percent at $3.65. The two companies said on Monday they are also considering replacing SunEdison with a new sponsor, by negotiating new sponsorship arrangements or by assuming SunEdison's existing sponsorship agreements.

SandRidge Energy Seeks Bankruptcy Protection

SandRidge Energy Inc and master limited partnership Breitburn Energy Partners LP filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, the latest U.S. oil and gas companies to fall victim to weak oil prices. A plunge in global crude prices has now pushed at least 28 publicly traded North American oil and gas producers to seek bankruptcy protection since early 2015, according to a Reuters review of regulatory filings. SandRidge said in a court filing that it had total assets of $7.01 billion and total debt of $4 billion as of March 31.

Seventy Seven Energy Files for Bankruptcy

Jerry Winchester (Photo: Seventy Seven Energy)

Oilfield services company Seventy Seven Energy Inc filed for a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday to carry out a plan to convert $1.1 billion of its debt into equity in a reorganized company. Seventy Seven offers drilling and hydraulic fracturing services and was spun out of Chesapeake Energy Corp in 2014. The company said its creditors have already voted overwhelmingly in favor its plan, a process known as a prepackaged bankruptcy. "The successful completion of the solicitation process and today's filing represent the next step forward in our financial restructuring…