🌑New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing - Cambrian Holding Company Inc.🌑

Cambrian Holding Company Inc.

June 16, 2019

Pour one out for the fine folks of eastern Kentucky and western Virginia. They can’t seem to catch a break.

Earlier this week, Cambrian Holding Company Inc. (and its affiliate debtors) joined a long line of coal producers/processors (e.g., Cloud Peak Energy, Westmoreland Coal, Mission Coal) who have recently filed for bankruptcy. The company employees approximately 660 people, none of whom are members of a labor union (in contrast to bigger, more controversial, coal filings, i.e., Westmoreland) and most of whom must be fretting over their futures. They must really be getting tired of all of the post-election “winning” that’s going on in coal country.

The company’s problems appear to start in 2015, at the time the company acquired TECO Coal LLC and assumed $40mm of workers’ compensation and black lung liabilities that TECO had previously self-insured. The company sought to leverage its broader scale to increase production but it failed to raise the working capital it needed to live up to its obligations and sustain production at levels necessary to service the company’s balance sheet. Post-acquisition, the company doubled revenues, but it couldn’t sustain that progress and nevertheless recorded net losses from 2015 through 2018. In turn, the company triggered financial covenant and other defaults under its ABL Revolver and Term Loan.

In other words, the company has been in a state of emergency ever since the acquisition. Almost immediately, the company “undertook various efforts to return to a positive cashflow,” which, as you might expect, meant idling or closing certain mining operations, stretching the usable life of equipment, and laying off employees.* Its efforts proved fruitless. Per the company:

Notwithstanding these efforts, the Debtors have been unable to overcome the pressures placed on their profit margins from steadily declining coal prices (along with burdensome regulations and the accompanying decline in demand for coal), all of which have contributed to the Debtors’ substantial negative cashflow and inability to consummate a value-enhancing transaction.

So, what now? The company, with assistance from Jefferies LLC, will attempt to find a buyer willing to catch a falling knife: the plan is to “commence an expeditious sale and marketing process” of the company’s assets (call us crazy, but shouldn’t it be the other way around?). To fund this process, the company has a DIP commitment from affiliates of pre-petition lenders for $15mm.**

*Interestingly, it was in March 2016 when Hilary Clinton infamously stated, “Because we're going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business.” At the time, Cambrian was already struggling, laying off people in an attempt to generate positive cashflow. That message really must’ve struck a chord down in coal country. WHOOPS.

**The Term Lenders swiftly objected to the terms of the DIP and the use of cash collateral.

  • Jurisdiction: D. of Kentucky (Judge Schaaf)

  • Capital Structure: $48mm ABL Revolver (Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch), $78mm Term Loan (Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas)

  • Professionals:

    • Legal: Frost Brown Todd LLC (Ronald Gold, Douglas Lutz, Patrica Burgess)

    • Financial Advisor: FTI Consulting Inc. (Bertrand Troiano)

    • Investment Banker: Jefferies LLC (Leon Szlezinger)

    • Claims Agent: Epiq Bankruptcy Solutions LLC (*click on the link above for free docket access)

  • Other Parties in Interest:

    • Term Lenders: Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch, Tennenbaum Opportunities Partners V, LP and Tennenbaum Opportunities Fund VI, LLC

      • Legal: Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (Brian Resnick, Christopher Robertson, Elliot Moskowitz) & (local) Bingham Greenbaum Doll LLP (Christopher Madden)

    • DIP & Bridge Lender: Richmond Hill Capital Partners, LP

New Chapter 11 Filing - hhgregg Inc.

hhgregg Inc.

  • 3/6/17 Recap: Indianapolis-based (and formerly publicly-traded - HGGG) brick-and-mortar retailer of appliances, consumer electronics, home products (read: all things that millennials don't buy) FINALLY filed for bankruptcy after an endless barrage of negative news stories, including reports of 88 store closures. The company's distress - brought on by trends afflicting the retail space generally and repeated to death in each and every retail bankruptcy filing, e.g., declining mall traffic, onerous leases, etc., - was exacerbated by its credit card program with Synchrony Bank and the need to post letters of credit to collateralize Synchrony's acquired receivables ($3mm paid, another $14mm owed). Note: there's a commentary here about consumer lending. The filing is intended to enable the company to continue with store closing sales and potentially find a buyer for its remaining locations.
  • Jurisdiction: S.D. of Indiana
  • Capital Structure: $300mm '21 credit facility ($56mm out)(Wells Fargo)     
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP (Neil Herman, Rachel Jaffe Mauceri, Benjamin Cordiano, Katherine Lindsay, Matthew Ziegler, Michaela Dragalin) & (local) Ice Miller LLP (Jeffrey Hokanson, Sarah Fowler)
    • Financial Advisor: Berkeley Research Group (Robert Duffy)
    • Investment Banker: Stifel & Miller Buckfire & Co. (James Doak)
    • Liquidators: Hilco Merchant Resources LLC (Ian Fredericks) and Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC (Michael Chartock) 
      • Legal: Kirkland & Ellis LLP (Patrick Nash, Bradley Weiland, Timothy Bow)
    • Real Estate Advisor: Hilco Real Estate LLC (Ryan Lawlor)
    • Asset Disposition Advisor: Malfitano Advisors LLC (Joseph Malfitano)
    • Claims Agent: Donlin Recano (*click on company name for free docket)
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • Agent for Prepetition Secured Lender & DIP Lender: Wells Fargo
      • Legal: Choate Hall & Stewart LLP (John Ventola, Sean Monahan, Jonathan Marshall) & Faegre Baker Daniels LLP (Jay Jaffe, Terry Hall)
    • Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors
      • Legal: Cooley LLP (Cathy Hershcopf, Seth Van Aalten, Richelle Kalnit, Robert Winning, Melissa Boyd) & (local) Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP (Whitney Mosby, Thomas Scherer, James Irving)
      • Financial Advisor: Province Inc. (Stilian Morrison)

Updated 4/3/17