Tronox Incorporated and certain affiliates (the “Debtors”) emerged from Chapter 11 in February 2011 armed with a new capital structure and operational game plan, but that’s yesterday’s news. The flavor of the month is last Friday’s decision by Justice Allan L.
The worldwide press has been humming that General Motors has finally taken back the pole position from Toyota as the worldwide sales leader. In contrast, stories about the General Motors bankruptcy have mostly stalled since the automaker’s plan of liquidation took effect last March. Until now.
In an Order issued yesterday by the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in the Omega Navigation Enterprises, Inc. (Omega) chapter 11 cases (the Show Cause Order), Judge Karen Brown has directed Omega’s Senior Lenders, Junior Lenders and Unsecured Creditors’ Committee to show cause whether they should be sanctioned for the conduct described in the Show Cause Order, a copy of which can be found HERE.
In an Order issued yesterday by the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in the Omega Navigation Enterprises, Inc. (Omega) chapter 11 cases, Judge Karen Brown has denied motions to dismiss or convert Omega’s chapter 11 cases or for relief from stay filed by Omega’s Senior Lenders and supported by Omega’s Junior Lenders and Unsecured Creditors’ Committee. In the view of Lloyd’s List, a leading industry publication:
On November 17, 2011 the IRS issued final Treasury Regulations (the “Final Regulations”) that address the tax consequences of a debtor partnership’s issuance of equity in satisfaction of a debt obligation (a “Partnership Equity-for-Debt Exchange”). The Final Regulations provide debtor partnerships, their partners and creditors with welcome clarity regarding the federal income tax consequences of such restructuring.
The enforcement of triangular setoffs in bankruptcy, where affiliates set off their claims against the debtor, received another setback in a recent decision in the Lehman bankruptcy cases. See In re Lehman Brothers Inc., No. 08-01420 (JMP) (SIPA), 2011 WL 4553015 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Oct.
Following the Second Circuit’s recent precedent in an Enron appeal (also the subject of a Basis Points blog post), Judge Peck of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York concluded that the redemption of notes prior to maturity was exempt from preference actions under the safe harbor provision of Bankruptcy Code § 546(e). Official Comm. of Unsecured Creditors of Quebecor World (USA) Inc. v. Am. United Life Ins. Co., No. 08-10152 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. July 27, 2011).
Argentine debtors are now subject to employee take-over under the nation’s recently amended bankruptcy code, signed into law by the nation’s President, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Argentine Bankruptcy Law 24,522 as amended by Law No. 26,684,1 allows employees of a bankrupt company who have established a union or cooperative to (i) suspend the enforcement of claims that are filed by creditors for up to 2 years and (ii) ask the judge to appoint the cooperative as the successor to the debtor’s management.
Yesterday, Energy XXI Ltd. became the latest domestic oil and gas company to pursue a more deleveraged balance sheet via Chapter 11 restructuring. This does not come as a surprise to those following the company – for much of the last three months Energy XXI’s stock has been trading at less than $1.00 per share. According to the press release issued by the company, the filing comes after the company reached agreement with more than 63% of second lien note holders on the material terms of the restructuring.