New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing - Centric Brands Inc. ($CTRC)

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Centric Brands Inc.

May 18, 2020

New York-based Centric Brands Inc. ($CTRC)(f/k/a Differential Brands Group Inc., Joe’s Jeans Inc., and Innovo Group Inc.) and 34 affiliates (the “debtors”) filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this week after COVID-19 ripped through the economy and disrupted retail operations all over the country. You’ve likely never heard of Centric Brands Inc. (unless you happened to have a soft spot for esoteric brand stocks). But there is a very good chance that you’ve purchased one of its licensed products or one of its privately-owned brands. They’re ubiquitous. And they’re ubiquitous because the company’s reach has expanded aggressively over the years.

The company started in 1987, acquired Joe’s Jeans in 2007, acquired Hudson Brand in 2013, merged with Robert Graham in 2015, acquired SWIMS in 2016 and then acquired Global Brands Group Holding Limited in 2018 for $1.2b. The majority of the company’s $1.7b of funded debt emanates out of that last transaction. More on this in a moment.

In addition to the aforementioned private brands, the company designs, produces, merchandises, manages and markets approximately 100 brands pursuant to various licenses. These brands include AllSaints, Calvin Klein, Disney, Jessica Simpson, Kenneth Cole, Tommy Hilfiger and many more. The company sells its licensed and private-brands in one of three categories: kids, accessories, and men’s and women’s apparel. The former two grew from ‘18 to ‘19. The latter…well…not so much. All of the company’s product is made in Asia or Mexico.

For distribution, the company sells wholesale to, among others, bigbox retailers like Walmart Inc. ($WMT) and Target Inc. ($TGT), to department stores like Macy’s Inc. ($M), Kohls Corporation ($KSS) and J.C. Penney Corporation ($JCPQ), to off-price retailers like TJX Companies ($TJX) and Ross Stores ($ROST), and on Amazon Inc. ($AMZN). It also has brick-and-mortar stores for its private label brands Robert Graham (33 stores) and SWIMS (one store) as well as certain licensed brands like BCBG (46 stores), Joe’s Jeans (13), and Herve Leger (one). Finally, the company operates partner shop-in-shops for BCBG with big department stores.

Bankruptcy aficionados are familiar with the BCBG brand. BCBG filed for bankruptcy itself back in March 2017. Marquee Brands LLC later acquired the entire portfolio of brands from BCBG Max Azria Global Holdings — including BCBGMAXAZRIA, BCBGeneration and Herve Leger — for $108mm later that year. Marquee’s licensing partner? Global Brands Group Holding Limited, which, as noted above, is now part of Centric Brands. Through license agreements entered into back in July 2017, Centric has the right to manufacture and distribute certain licensed BCBG product; it also has the right to use certain intellectual property for retail and e-commerce sales.

Back in April, BCBG and the company started getting after it. BCBG was pissed because the company owed it $3mm in royalty payments. After the company continued not to pay, BCBG terminated the agreement. Now the parties have a settlement. The company is rejecting the licensing agreements, agreeing to let BCBG setoff $3mm against its pre-petition claim (which is capped at $20mm and pledged in support of the plan), and agreeing to pay ongoing royalties on the goods to be supplied to wholesale partners. Marquee Brands LLC is taking the licenses back and intends to add BCBG to its e-commerce portfolio.*

Soooooo…what happens to those brick-and-mortar locations we mentioned earlier? The debtors filed a motion already seeking to reject nonresidential real property leases effective as of the petition date. The debtors seek approval to reject seven Robert Graham leases, 42 BCBG leases and one Joe’s Jeans lease. Of those rejected leases 25 are in locations managed by Simon Property Group ($SPG). But, sure, the “A” malls are juuuuuuuust fine folks. Nothing to see here.

Well, except the capital structure. It’s so large it’s kinda hard to miss. The company has:

  • $163.9mm RCF,

  • $20mm ‘20 term loan bridge,

  • $631.9mm ‘23 first lien term loan (HPS Investment Partners, Ares Capital Corporation)

  • $719.8mm second lien term loan (GSO Capital Partners LP and Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Fund),

  • $200.3mm securitization facility, and

  • $28.7mm unsecured convertible notes plus $10mm modified convertible notes.

Luckily the holdings are concentrated among the above-noted funds. Accordingly, HPS, Ares and Blackstone will end up lenders in an exit first lien term loan and own the reorganized equity on the backend of this restructuring. HPS and Ares will own 30% of the equity and Blackstone will own 70% (subject to dilution). Your kids’ favorite licensed casualwear powered by private equity!**

*It is unclear what Marquee Brands LLC will do with the BCBG wholesale business. This article suggests they’ll do something and then goes on to emphasize only the e-commerce approach.

**The case will be powered by a $435mm DIP credit facility of which $275mm will be provided by the revolving lenders (and will rollup the pre-petition facility) and roll into an exit facility. The remaining $160mm will be a DIP term loan provided by Blackstone which will role into the exit first lien term loan with the first lien term lenders. The debtors will also extend its existing Securitization Facility.

  • Jurisdiction: S.D. of New York (Judge )

  • Capital Structure: $163.9mm RCF, $20mm ‘20 term loan bridge, $631.9mm ‘23 first lien term loan, $719.8mm second lien term loan, $200.3mm securitization facility, $28.7mm unsecured convertible notes, $10mm modified convertible notes

  • Professionals:

    • Legal: Ropes & Gray LLP (Gregg Galardi, Christine Pirro Schwarzman, Daniel Egan, Emily Kehoe)

    • Financial Advisor/CRO: Alvarez & Marsal LLC (Joseph Sciametta)

    • Investment Banker: PJT Partners LP (James Baird)

    • Claims Agent: Prime Clerk LLC (*click on the link above for free docket access)

  • Other Parties in Interest:

    • Prepetition First Lien Revolver & DIP Agent ($275mm): ACF Finco I LP

      • Legal: Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP (Julia Frost-Davies, Laura McCarthy)

    • First Lien Lenders: HPS Investment Partners, Ares Capital Corporation

      • Legal: Latham & Watkins LLP (Richard Levy, James Ktsanes)

    • Preptition Second Lien TL & DIP TL Agent ($160mm): US Bank NA

      • Legal: Nixon Peabody LLP (Catherine Ng)

    • Second Lien Lenders and DIP TL Lenders: GSO Capital Partners LP and Blackstone Tactical Opportunities Fund

      • Legal: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP (Ira Dizengoff, Philip Dublin, Brad Kahn)

    • Receivables Purchase Agreement Agent

      • Legal: Mayer Brown LLP (Brian Trust)

    • Major equityholders: Cede & Co., GSO Capital Opportunities Fund III LP, GSO CST III Holdco LP, TCP Denim LLC, Tengram Capital Partners Fund II LP, Ares Capital Corporation

👕 New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing - Chinos Holdings Inc. (J.Crew) 👕

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Chinos Holdings Inc. (J.Crew)

May 4, 2020

If you’re looking for a snapshot of the pre-trade war and pre-COVID US economy look no farther than J.Crew’s list of top 30 unsecured creditors attached to its chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. On the one hand there is the LONG list of sourcers, manufacturers and other middlemen who form the crux of J.Crew’s sh*tty product line: this includes, among others, 12 Hong Kong-based, three India-based, three South Korea-based, two Taiwan-based, and two Vietnam-based companies. In total, 87% of their product is sourced in Asia (45% from mainland China and 16% from Vietnam). On the other hand, there are the US-based companies. There’s Deloitte Consulting — owed a vicious $22.7mm — the poster child here for the services-dependent US economy. There’s the United Parcel Services Inc. ($UPS)…okay, whatever. You’ve gotta ship product. We get that. And then there’s Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB, as the debtors’ pre-petition term loan agent, and Eaton Vance Management as a debtholder and litigant. Because nothing says the US-of-f*cking-A like debt and debtholder driven litigation. ‘Merica! F*ck Yeah!!

Chinos Holdings Inc. (aka J.Crew) and seventeen affiliated debtors (the “debtors”) filed for bankruptcy early Monday morning with a prearranged deal that is dramatically different from the deal the debtors (and especially the lenders) thought they had at the tail end of 2019. That’s right: while the debtors have obviously had fundamental issues for years, it was on the brink of a transaction that would have kept it out of court. Call it “The Petsmart Effect.” (PETITION Note: long story but after some savage asset-stripping the Chewy IPO basically dug out Petsmart from underneath its massive debt load; J.Crew’s ‘19 deal intended to do the same by separating out the various businesses from the Chino’s holding company and using Madewell IPO proceeds to fund payments to lenders).

Here is the debtors’ capital structure. It is key to understanding what (i) the 2019 deal was supposed to accomplish and (ii) the ownership of J.Crew will look like going forward:

Screen Shot 2020-05-04 at 3.38.16 PM.png

Late last year, the debtors and their lenders entered into a Transaction Support Agreement (“TSA”) with certain pre-petition lenders and their equity sponsors, TPG Capital LP and Leonard Green & Partners LP, that would have (a) swapped the $1.33b of term loans for $420mm of new term loans + cash and (b) left general unsecured creditors unimpaired (100% recovery of amounts owed). As noted above, the cash needed to make (a) and (b) happen would have come from a much-ballyhooed IPO of Madewell Inc.

Then COVID-19 happened.

Suffice it to say, IPO’ing a brick-and-mortar based retailer — even if there were any kind of IPO window — is a tall order when there’s, like, a pandemic shutting down all brick-and-mortar business. Indeed, the debtors indicate that they expect a $900mm revenue decline due to COVID. That’s the equivalent of taking Madewell — which earned $602m of revenue in ‘19 after $614mm in ‘18 — and blowing it to smithereens. Only then to go back and blow up the remnants a second time for good measure.* Source of funds exit stage left!

The post-COVID deal is obviously much different. The term lenders aren’t getting a paydown from Madewell proceeds any longer; rather, they are effectively getting Madewell itself by converting their term loan claims and secured note claims into approximately 82% of the reorganized equity. Some other highlights:

  • Those term loan holders who are members of the Ad Hoc Committee will backstop a $400mm DIP credit facility (50% minimum commitment) that will convert into $400mm of new term loans post-effective date. The entire plan is premised upon a $1.75b enterprise value which is…uh…interesting. Is it modest considering it represents a $1b haircut off the original take-private enterprise value nine years ago? Or is it ambitious considering the company’s obvious struggles, its limited brand equity, the recession, brick-and-mortar’s continued decline, Madewell’s deceleration, and so forth and so on? Time will tell.

  • Syndication of the DIP will be available to holders of term loans and IPCo Notes (more on these below), provided, however, that they are accredited institutional investors.

  • The extra juice for putting in for a DIP allocation is that, again, they convert to new term loans and, for their trouble, lenders of the new term loans will get 15% additional reorganized equity plus warrants. So an institution that’s in it to win it and has a full-on crush for Madewell (and the ghost of JCrew-past) will get a substantial chunk of the post-reorg equity (subject to dilution).

Query whether, if asked a mere six months ago, they were interested in owning this enterprise, the term lenders would’ve said ‘yes.’ Call us crazy but we suspect not. 😎

General unsecured creditors’ new deal ain’t so hot in comparison either. They went from being unimpaired to getting a $50mm pool with a 50% cap on claims. That is to say, maybe…maybe…they’ll get 50 cents on the dollar.

That is, unless they’re one of the debtors’ 140 landlords owed, in the aggregate, approximately $23mm in monthly lease obligations.** The debtors propose to treat them differently from other unsecured creditors and give them a “death trap” option: if they accept the TSA’s terms and get access to a $3mm pool or reject and get only $1mm with a 50% cap on claims. We can’t imagine this will sit well. We imagine that the debtors choice of venue selection has something to do with this proposed course of action. 🤔

We’re not going to get into the asset stripping transaction at the heart of the IPCo Note issuance. This has been widely-covered (and litigated) but we suspect it may get a new breath of life here (only to be squashed again, more likely than not). In anticipation thereof, the debtors have appointed special committees to investigate the validity of any claims related to the transaction. They may want to take up any dividends to their sponsors while they’re at it.

The debtors hope to have this deal wrapped up in a bow within 130 days. We cannot even imagine what the retail landscape will look like that far from now but, suffice it to say, the ratings agencies aren’t exactly painting a calming picture.

*****

*Curiously, there are some discrepancies here in the numbers. In the first day papers, the debtors indicate that 2018 revenue for Madewell was $529.2mm. With $602mm in ‘19 revenue, one certainly walks away with the picture that Madewell is a source of growth (13.8%) while the J.Crew side of the business continues to decline (-4%). This graph is included in the First Day Declaration:

Source: First Day Declaration

Source: First Day Declaration

The Madewell S-1, however, indicates that 2018 revenue was $614mm.

Screen Shot 2020-05-04 at 3.58.35 PM.png

With $268mm of the ‘18 revenue coming in the first half, this would imply that second half ‘18 revenue was $346mm. With ‘19 revenue coming in at $602mm and $333mm attributable to 1H, this would indicate that the business is declining rather than growing. In the second half, in particular, revenue for fiscal ‘19 was $269mm, a precipitous dropoff from $333mm in ‘18. Even if you take the full year fiscal year ‘18 numbers from the first day declaration (529.2 - 268) you get $261mm of second half growth in ‘18 compared to the $269mm in ‘19. While this would reflect some growth, it doesn’t exactly move the needle. This is cause for concern.

**To make matters worse for landlords, the debtors are also seeking authority to shirk post-petition rent obligations for 60 days while they evaluate whether to shed their leases. We get that the debtors were nearing a deal that COVID threw into flux, but this bit is puzzling: “Beginning in early April 2020, after several weeks of government mandated store closures and uncertainty as to the duration and resulting impact of the pandemic, the Debtors began to evaluate their lease portfolio to, among other things, quantify and realize the potential for lease savings.” Beginning in early April!?!?

  • Jurisdiction: E.D. of Virginia (Judge )

  • Capital Structure: $311mm ABL (Bank of America NA), $1.34b ‘21 term loan (Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB), $347.6 IPCo Notes (U.S. Bank NA)

  • Professionals:

    • Legal: Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP (Ray Schrock, Ryan Preston Dahl, Candace Arthur, Daniel Gwen) & Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP (Tyler Brown, Henry P Long III, Nathan Kramer)

    • JCrew Opco Special Committee: D.J. (Jan) Baker, Chat Leat, Richard Feintuch, Seth Farbman

    • Financial Advisor: AlixPartners LLP

    • Investment Banker: Lazard Freres & Co.

    • Real Estate Advisor: Hilco Real Estate LLC

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

  • Other Parties in Interest:

    • Pre-petition ABL Agent: Bank of America NA

      • Legal: Choate Hall & Stewart LLP (Kevin Simard, G. Mark Edgarton) & McGuireWoods LLP (Douglas Foley, Sarah Boehm)

    • Pre-petition Term Loan & DIP Agent ($400mm): Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

      • Legal: Seward & Kissel LLP

    • Ad Hoc Committee

      • Legal: Milbank LLP (Dennis Dunne, Samuel Khalil, Andrew LeBlanc, Matthew Brod) & Tavenner & Beran PLC (Lynn Tavenner, Paula Beran, David Tabakin)

      • Financial Advisor: PJT Partners Inc.

    • Large common and Series B preferred stock holders: TPG Capital LP (55% and 66.2%) & Leonard Green & Partners LP (20.7% and 24.8%)

      • Legal: Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP (Paul Basta, Jacob Adlerstein, Eugene Park, Irene Blumberg) & Whiteford Taylor & Preston LLP (Christopher Jones, Vernon Inge Jr., Corey Booker)

    • Large Series A preferred stock holders: Anchorage Capital Group LLC (25.6%), GSO Capital Partners LP (26.1%), Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (15.5%)

⛽️New Chapter 11 Filing - Legacy Reserves Inc.⛽️

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Legacy Reserves Inc.

June 18, 2019

Even at 95 years old, you can’t get one past Charlie Munger. #Legend.

The Permian Basin in West Texas is where it’s at in the world of oil and gas exploration and production. Per Wikipedia:

As of 2018, the Permian Basin has produced more than 33 billion barrels of oil, along with 118 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. This production accounts for 20% of US crude oil production and 7% of US dry natural gas production. While the production was thought to have peaked in the early 1970s, new technologies for oil extraction, such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have increased production dramatically. Estimates from the Energy Information Administration have predicted that proven reserves in the Permian Basin still hold 5 billion barrels of oil and approximately 19 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

oil gushing.gif

And it may be even more prolific than originally thought. Norwegian research firm Rystad Energy recently issued a report indicating that Permian projected output was already above 4.5mm barrels a day in May with volumes exceeding 5mm barrels in June. This staggering level of production is pushing total U.S. oil production to approximately 12.5mm barrels per day in May. That means the Permian now accounts for 36% of US crude oil production — a significant increase over 2018. Normalized across 365 days, that would be a 1.64 billion barrel run rate. This is despite (a) rigs coming offline in the Permian and (b) natural gas flaring and venting reaching all-time highs in Q1 ‘19 due to a lack of pipelines. Come again? That’s right. The Permian is producing in quantities larger than pipelines can accommodate. Per Reuters:

Producers burned or vented 661 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) in the Permian Basin of West Texas and eastern New Mexico, the field that has driven the U.S. to record oil production, according to a new report from Rystad Energy.

The Permian’s first-quarter flaring and venting level more than doubles the production of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico’s most productive gas facility, Royal Dutch Shell’s Mars-Ursa complex, which produces about 260 to 270 mmcfd of gas.

The Permian isn’t alone in this, however. The Bakken shale field in North Dakota is also flaring at a high level. More from Reuters:

Together, the two oil fields on a yearly basis are burning and venting more than the gas demand in countries that include Hungary, Israel, Azerbaijan, Colombia and Romania, according to the report.

All of which brings us to Legacy Reserves Inc. ($LGCY). Despite the midstream challenges, one could be forgiven for thinking that any operators engaged in E&P in the Permian might be insulated from commodity price declines and other macro headwinds. That position, however, would be wrong.

Legacy is a publicly-traded energy company engaged in the acquisition, development, production of oil and nat gas properties; its primary operations are in the Permian Basin (its largest operating region, historically), East Texas, and in the Rocky Mountain and Mid-Continent regions. While some of these basins may produce gobs of oil and gas, acquisition and production is nevertheless a HIGHLY capital intensive endeavor. And, here, like with many other E&P companies that have recently made their way into the bankruptcy bin, “significant capital” translates to “significant debt.”

Per the Company:

Like similar companies in this industry, the Company’s oil and natural gas operations, including their exploration, drilling, and production operations, are capital-intensive activities that require access to significant amounts of capital.  An oil price environment that has not recovered from the downturn seen in mid-2014 and the Company’s limited access to new capital have adversely affected the Company’s business. The Company further had liquidity constraints through borrowing base redeterminations under the Prepetition RBL Credit Agreement, as well as an inability to refinance or extend the maturity of the Prepetition RBL Credit Agreement beyond May 31, 2019.

This is the company’s capital structure:

Legacy Cap Stack.png

The company made two acquisitions in mid-2015 costing over $540mm. These acquisitions proved to be ill-timed given the longer-than-expected downturn in oil and gas. Per the Company:

In hindsight, despite the GP Board’s and management’s favorable view of the potential future opportunities afforded by these acquisitions and the high-caliber employees hired by the Company in connection therewith, these two acquisitions consumed disproportionately large amounts of the Company’s liquidity during a difficult industry period.

WHOOPS. It’s a good thing there were no public investors in this thing who were in it for the high yield and favorable tax treatment.*

Yet, the company was able to avoid a prior bankruptcy when various other E&P companies were falling like flies. Why was that? Insert the “drillco” structure here: the company entered into a development agreement with private equity firm TPG Special Situations Partners to drill, baby, drill (as opposed to acquire). What’s a drillco structure? Quite simply, the PE firm provided capital in return for a wellbore interest in the wells that it capitalized. Once TPG clears a specified IRR in relation to any specific well, any remaining proceeds revert to the operator. This structure — along with efforts to delever through out of court exchanges of debt — provided the company with much-needed runway during a rough macro patch.

It didn’t last, however. Liquidity continued to be a pervasive problem and it became abundantly clear that the company required a holistic solution to its balance sheet. That’s what this filing will achieve: this chapter 11 case is a financial restructuring backed by a Restructuring Support Agreement agreed to by nearly the entirety of the capital structure — down through the unsecured notes. Per the Company:

The Global RSA contemplates $256.3 million in backstopped equity commitments, $500.0 million in committed exit financing from the existing RBL Lenders, the equitization of approximately $815.8 million of prepetition debt, and payment in full of the Debtors’ general unsecured creditors.

Said another way, the Permian holds far too much promise for parties in interest to walk away from it without maintaining optionality for the future.

*Investors got burned multiple times along the way here. How did management do? Here is one view (view thread: it’s precious):

😬

  • Jurisdiction: S.D. of Texas (Judge Isgur)

  • Capital Structure: See above.

  • Professionals:

    • Legal: Sidley Austin LLP (Duston McFaul, Charles Persons, Michael Fishel, Maegan Quejada, James Conlan, Bojan Guzina, Andrew O’Neill, Allison Ross Stromberg)

    • Financial Advisor: Alvarez & Marsal LLC (Seth Bullock, Mark Rajcevich)

    • Investment Banker: Perella Weinberg Partners (Kevin Cofsky)

    • Claims Agent: KCC (*click on the link above for free docket access)

  • Other Parties in Interest:

    • Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (Wilmington Trust NA, Dalton Investments LLC, Paul Drueke, John Dinkel, Nicholas Mumford)

    • GSO Capital Partners LP

      • Legal: Latham & Watkins LLP (George Davis, Adam Goldberg, Christopher Harris, Zachary Proulx, Brett Neve, Julian Bulaon) & (local) Porter Hedges LLP (John Higgins, Eric English, M. Shane Johnson)

    • DIP Lender: Wells Fargo Bank NA

      • Legal: Orrick LLP (Raniero D’Aversa, Laura Metzger)

    • Prepetition Term Agent: Cortland Capital Market Services LLC

      • Legal: Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP (Gerardo Mijares-Shafai, Seth Kleinman)

    • Indenture Trustee: Wilmington Trust NA

      • Legal: Pryor Cashman (Seth Lieberman, Patrick Sibley, Andrew Richmond)

    • Ad Hoc Group of Senior Noteholders (Canyon Capital Advisors LLC, DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund, J.H. Lane Partners Master Fund LP, JCG 2016 Holdings LP, The John C. Goff 2010 Family Trust, John C. Goff SEP-IRA, Cuerno Largo Partners LP, MGA insurance Company Inc., Pingora Partners LLC)

      • Legal: Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (Brian Resnick, Stephen Piraino, Michael Pera) & (local) Rapp & Krock PC (Henry Flores)

Updated 7/7/19 #188

New Chapter 11 Filing - Sungard Availability Services Capital Inc.

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Sungard Availability Services Capital Inc.

May 1, 2019

Pennsylvania-based Sungard Availability Services Capital Inc., a provider of “critical production and recovery services to global enterprise companies,” with $977mm of net revenue and $203mm of EBITDA in fiscal 2018 filed a prepackaged chapter 11 plan in the Southern District of New York on Wednesday and, if you blinked, you may have missed its residency in bankruptcy. Indeed, some lost their minds because Kirkland & Ellis LLP was able to shepherd the case in and out of bankruptcy in less than 24 hours — breaking the previous record only recently set in FullBeauty. Yes, people care about these things.*

The upshot of this expeditious bankruptcy case is that (a) the company shed nearly $900mm of debt from its balance sheet (reducing debt down to approximately $400-450mm) and (b) transferred 89% ownership to a variety of debt-for-equity swapping funds such as GSO Capital Partners, Angelo Gordon & Co., and Carlyle Group (who will also receive $300mm in senior secured term loan paper). Major equity holders — Bain Capital Integral Investors LLC, Blackstone Capital Partners IV LP, Blackstone GT Communications Partners LP, KKR Millennium Fund LP, Providence Equity Partners V LP, Silver Lake Partners II LP, TPG Partners IV LP — had their equity wiped out. We had previously highlighted KKR’s investment here in “A Hot-Potato Plan of Reorganization. Short BDC Retail Exposure,” discussing the broader context of BDC lending. This is what the capital structure looks like and will look like:

Source: Disclosure Statement

Source: Disclosure Statement

That balance sheet is the driver behind the bankruptcy filing. Per the company:

This legacy capital structure was created based upon the Company’s historical operating model and performance and is unsustainable under current market conditions. When the capital structure was put in place, the Company benefited from a larger revenue base with substantially higher free cash flow. As business conditions evolved and the Company’s revenue declined, cash flow available to service debt and invest in products and services substantially declined. Consolidated net revenue declined by approximately 18% from approximately $1.2 billion in 2016 to approximately $977 million in 20188 while adjusted EBITDA margins remained within a range of approximately 20% to 22%. Negative net cash flow from 2016 to 2018 was approximately $80 million.

In other words, this is as clear-cut a balance sheet restructuring that you can get. Indeed, general unsecured claims are — as you might expect from a prepackaged plan of reorganization — riding through unimpaired. This consensual restructuring is clearly the right result. Getting it in and out of court so quickly is a bonus.

Yet, lest anyone get too high on their own supply, it’s important to note that, while this is a good result under the circumstances, there is a significant amount of value destruction illustrated by this filing. The term lenders are getting merely an estimated 50-73% recovery while the noteholders are getting 7-14%**. Now, it IS reasonable to expect that the “par guys” blew out of this situation long ago. And it is also reasonable to assume that the current holders of loans and notes got in at a significant discount so “value destruction” really is a matter of timing/pricing. For the avoidance of doubt, however, there’s no question that certain lenders experienced some pain on the path to this filing. Here is the chart representing the company’s notes:

Screen Shot 2019-05-03 at 11.12.24 AM.png

So, while some are surely celebrating, others are surely licking their wounds.

*We don’t really want to be too flip about this. As critics of the bankruptcy process, we’re all for seeing more efficient uses of the bankruptcy court — even if that does mean that fees were run up pre-petition without any oversight whatsoever.

**You always have to take these recovery amounts with a grain of salt. In case the rampant Chapter 22s haven’t already taught you that.

  • Jurisdiction: S.D. of New York (Judge Drain)

  • Capital Structure:

  • Professionals:

    • Legal: Kirkland & Ellis LLP (Jonathan Henes, Emily Geier, Ryan Blaine Bennett, Laura Krucks

    • Board of Directors: Darren Abrahamson, Patrick J. Bartels Jr., Randy Hendricks, John Park, David Treadwell

    • Financial Advisor/CRO: AlixPartners LLP (Eric Koza)

    • Investment Banker: Centerview Partners (Samuel Greene)

    • Claims Agent: Prime Clerk LLC (*click on the link above for free docket access)

  • Other Parties in Interest:

    • DIP Agent: JPMorgan Chase Bank NA

    • Secured Lender Group

      • Jones Day (Scott Greenberg, Michael Cohen, Nicholas Morin)

      • Financial Advisor: Houlihan Lokey Capital Inc.

    • Crossover Group

      • Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP (Philip Dublin, Naomi Moss)

      • Financial Advisor: PJT Partners LP

    • Large Equityholders: Bain Capital Integral Investors LLC, Blackstone Capital Partners IV LP, Blackstone GT Communications Partners LP, KKR Millennium Fund LP, Providence Equity Partners V LP, Silver Lake Partners II LP, TPG Partners IV LP

      • Legal: Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP (Brian Hermann, Jacob Adlerstein)

New Chapter 11 Filing - Hexion Holdings LLC

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Hexion Holdings LLC

April 1, 2019

What we appreciate that and, we hope thanks to PETITION, others will eventually come to appreciate, is that there is a lot to learn from the special corporate law, investment banking, advisory, and investing niche labeled “restructuring” and “distressed investing.” Here, Ohio-based Hexion Holdings LLC is a company that probably touches our lives in ways that most people have no knowledge of: it produces resins that “are key ingredients in a wide variety of industrial and consumer goods, where they are often employed as adhesives, as coatings and sealants, and as intermediates for other chemical applications.” These adhesives are used in wind turbines and particle board; their coatings prevent corrosion on bridges and buildings. You can imagine a scenario where, if Washington D.C. can ever get its act together and get an infrastructure bill done, Hexion will have a significant influx of revenue.

Not that revenue is an issue now. It generated $3.8b in 2018, churning out $440mm of EBITDA. And operational performance is on the upswing, having improved 21% YOY. So what’s the problem? In short, the balance sheet is a hot mess.* Per the company:

“…the Debtors face financial difficulties. Prior to the anticipated restructuring, the Debtors are over nine times levered relative to their 2018 adjusted EBITDA and face annual debt service in excess of $300 million. In addition, over $2 billion of the Debtors’ prepetition funded debt obligations mature in 2020. The resulting liquidity and refinancing pressures have created an unsustainable drag on the Debtors and, by extension, their Non-Debtor Affiliates, requiring a comprehensive solution.”

This is what that capital structure looks like:

Screen Shot 2019-04-01 at 12.28.48 PM.png
Screen Shot 2019-04-01 at 12.29.02 PM.png

(PETITION Note: if you’re wondering what the eff is a 1.5 lien note, well, welcome to the party pal. These notes are a construct of a frothy high-yield market and constructive readings of credit docs. They were issued in 2017 to discharge maturing notes. The holders thereof enjoy higher priority on collateral than the second lien notes and other junior creditors below, but slot in beneath the first lien notes).

Anyway, to remedy this issue, the company has entered into a support agreement “that enjoys the support of creditors holding a majority of the debt to be restructured, including majorities within every tier of the capital structure.” The agreement would reduce total funded debt by $2b by: (a) giving the first lien noteholders $1.45b in cash (less adequate protection payments reflecting interest on their loans), and 72.5% of new common stock and rights to participate in the rights offering at a significant discount to a total enterprise value of $3.1b; and (b) the 1.5 lien noteholders, the second lien noteholders and the unsecured noteholders 27.5% of the new common stock and rights to participate in the rights offering. The case will be funded by a $700mm DIP credit facility.

*Interestingly, Hexion is a derivative victim of the oil and gas downturn. In 2014, the company was selling resin coated sand to oil and gas businesses to the tune of 8% of sales and 28% of segment EBITDA. By 2016, segment EBITDA dropped by approximately $150mm, a sizable loss that couldn’t be offset by other business units.

  • Jurisdiction: D. of Delaware (Judge Gross)

  • Capital Structure: See above.

  • Professionals:

    • Legal: Latham & Watkins LLP (George Davis, Andrew Parlan, Hugh Murtagh, Caroline Reckler, Jason Gott, Lisa Lansio, Blake Denton, Andrew Sorkin, Christopher Harris) & (local) Richards Layton & Finger PA (Mark Collins, Michael Merchant, Amanda Steele, Brendan Schlauch)

    • Managers: Samuel Feinstein, William Joyce, Robert Kaslow-Ramos, George F. Knight III, Geoffrey Manna, Craig Rogerson, Marvin Schlanger, Lee Stewart

    • Financial Advisor: AlixPartners LLP

    • Investment Banker: Moelis & Company LLC (Zul Jamal)

    • Claims Agent: Omni Management Group (*click on the link above for free docket access)

  • Other Parties in Interest:

    • Ad Hoc Group of First Lien Noteholders (Angelo Gordon & Co. LP, Aristeia Capital LLC, Barclays Bank PLC, Beach Point Capital Management LP, Capital Research and Management Company, Citadel Advisors LLC, Contrarian Capital Management LLC, Credit Suisse Securities USA LLC, Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, DoubleLine Capital LP, Eaton Vance Management, Federated Investment Counseling, GoldenTree Asset Management LP, Graham Capital Management LP, GSO Capital Partners LP, Heyman Enterprise LLC, Hotchkis and Wiley Capital Management LLC, OSK VII LLC, Pacific Investment Management Company LLC, Silver Rock Financial LP, Sound Point Capital Management LP, Tor Asia Credit Master Fund LP, UBS Securities LLC, Whitebox Advisors LLC)

      • Legal: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP (Ira Dizengoff, Philip Dublin, Daniel Fisher, Naomi Moss, Abid Qureshi)

      • Financial Advisor: Evercore Group LLC

    • Ad Hoc Group of Crossover Noteholders (Aegon USA Investment Management LLC, Aurelius Capital Master Ltd., Avenue Capital Management II LP, Avenue Europe International Management, Benefit Street Partners LLC, Cyrus Capital Partners LP, KLS Diversified Asset Management LLC, Loomis Sayles & Company LP, Monarch Alternative Capital LP, New Generation Advisors LLC, P. Schoenfeld Asset Management LP)

      • Legal: Milbank LLP (Samuel Khalil, Matthew Brod)

      • Financial Advisor: Houlihan Lokey Capital Inc.

    • Ad Hoc Group of 1.5 Lien Noteholders

      • Legal: Jones Day (Sidney Levinson, Jeremy Evans)

    • Pre-petition RCF Agent & Post-petition DIP Agent ($350mm): JPMorgan Chase Bank NA

      • Legal: Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

    • Trustee under the First Lien Notes: U.S. Bank NA

      • Legal: Kelley Drye & Warren LLP (James Carr, Kristin Elliott) & (local) Dorsey & Whitney LLP (Eric Lopez Schnabel, Alessandra Glorioso)

    • Trustee of 1.5 Lien Notes: Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

      • Legal: Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

    • Trustee of Borden Indentures: The Bank of New York Mellon

    • Sponsor: Apollo

    • Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; Agrium US, Inc.; The Bank of New York Mellon; Mitsubishi Gas Chemical America; PVS Chloralkali, Inc.; Southern Chemical Corporation; Wilmington Trust; Wilmington Savings Fund Society; and Blue Cube Operations LLC

      • Legal: Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP (Kenneth Eckstein, Douglas Mannal, Rachael Ringer) & (local) Bayard PA (Scott Cousins, Erin Fay, Gregory Flasser)

      • Financial Advisor: FTI Consulting Inc. (Samuel Star)

Updated:

New Chapter 11 Filing - Gibson Brands Inc.

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Gibson Brands Inc.

5/1/18

After months of speculation (which we have covered here and elsewhere), the famed Nashville-based guitar manufacturer has finally filed for Chapter 11. We're old enough to remember this:

Late Tuesday, GIbson Brands CEO Henry Juszkiewicz denied all of the reports and indicated via press release that a plan was underway to salvage the brand.

What Mr. Juszkiewicz didn't say was that "a plan" actually meant a "plan of reorganization." Which is okay: nobody believed him anyway. 

And here's why: in the company's First Day Declaration, the company proudly boasts,

The Debtors' strength, rooted in their iconic Gibson, Epiphone, KRK, and other brands that have shaped the music industry for over 100 years, have been the brands of choice for countless musicians and recording artists, including some of the most legendary guitarists in history such as Muddy Waters, BB King, Elvis Presley, Pete Townsend, Keith Richards, Duane Allman, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz, Slash, Dave Grohl, Joe Bonamassa, and Brad Paisley, among others. 

Anyone else see an issue with this lineup? Legends, sure, but not exactly a group of artists you see listed on Coachella posters. Even in a publicly-available document, this company doesn't know how to market itself to the masses. Case and point, after Guitar Center got its out-of-court deal done last week, we wrote the following:

Gibson may want to embrace the present. But we digress. 

Unbeknownst to many, however, Gibson is more than just its legendary guitars. No doubt, guitars are a big part of its business. According to the company's First Day Declaration (which, for the record, is one of the more jumbled incoherent narratives we've seen in a First Day Declaration in some time), 

Gibson has the top market share in premium electric guitars, selling over 170,000 guitars annually in over eighty (80) countries worldwide and selling over 40% of all electric guitars priced above $2,000.

But the company also expanded to include a "Professional Audio" segment, its musical instrument and pro-audio segment ("MI," which is positive cash flow), and a "Gibson Innovations" business ("GI"), which stems from a 2014 leveraged transaction. The latter business has been a drag on the overall enterprise ever since the transaction eventually leading to breaches of certain financial covenants under the company's senior secured bank debt financing agreements. The company was forced to pay down the debt to the tune of $60 million since the Fall of 2017, a cash drain which severely accentuated liquidity issues within that business. It came to this brutal reality: 

...the GI Business became trapped in a vicious cycle in which it lacked the liquidity to buy inventory and drive sales while at the same time it lacked the liquidity to rationalize its workforce to match its diminished operations.

That's rough. Even rougher is that on April 30, 2018, the GI business initiated formal liquidation proceedings under the laws of at least 8 different countries. Looks like Mr. Juszkiewicz' previous expansion "plan" was an utter disaster. 

⚡️Warning: Geeky stuff to follow ⚡️:

Now, the company is left with restructuring around the EBITDA- positive MI business with the hope of maximizing recovery for stakeholders. The holders of 69% of the principal amount of notes (PETITION NOTE: for the uninitiated, this satisfies the 2/3 in amount requirement of the bankruptcy code; unknown whether they satisfy the second prong of 1/2 in number) have entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement which would effectively equitize the notes and transfer ownership of MI to the noteholders. The company has also entered into a $135 DIP credit facility backstopped by an ad hoc group of noteholders to finance the company's trip through bankruptcy (the mechanic of which effectively rolls up some of the prepetition debt into the postpetition facility, giving the noteholders higher distribution priority). 

The RSA envisions a transaction whereby the company will exit bankruptcy with an untapped asset-backed lending facility and enough exit financing to pay off the DIP facility. So, the noteholders will collect some nice fees for about 9 months. The lenders under the DIP facility will have the option to cover the DIP monies into equity in the reorganized company at a 20% discount to the plan's valuation. 

⚡️Geeky Stuff Over. Now Back to Regularly Scheduled Snark ⚡️:

Naturally, current management has somehow convinced the new owners, i.e., the funds converting their notes into equity, that they're so invaluable that they should receive millions in "transition"-based compensation and warrants for upside preservation. Makes total sense. David Berryman, who runs Epiphone, will get a one year employment agreement paying $3.35 million, 5 year-warrants, and health benefits; Mr. Juszciewicz will get a one year "consulting agreement" paying $2.1 million, 5 year-warrants and health benefits (plus other profit-sharing incentives). It sure pays to run a company into bankruptcy these days. Naturally, they'll also get releases from any liability. Because, you know, bankruptcy!!

One final note: Thomas Lauria and White & Case LLP are listed as the 22nd highest creditor. Popping popcorn. 

  • Jurisdiction: D. of Delaware 
  • Capital Structure: $17.5 million ABL (Bank of America NA)/ $77.4 million Term Loan (GSO Capital Solutions Fund II AIV-I LP), $375 million '18 8.875% senior secured notes (Wilmington Trust NA), $60 million ITLA loan (GI Business only)
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Goodwin Proctor LLP (Michael H. Goldstein, Gregory W. Fox, Barry Z. Bazian) & (local) Pepper Hamilton LLP (David Stratton, David Fournier, Michael Custer, Marcy McLaughlin)
    • Financial Advisor/CRO: Alvarez & Marsal North America LLC (Brian Fox) 
    • Investment Banker: Jefferies LLC (Jeffrey Finger)
    • Independent Directors: Alan Carr & Sol Picciotto
    • Claims Agent: Prime Clerk LLC (*click on company name above for free docket access)
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • DIP Agent: Cortland Capital Market Services LLC
      • Legal: Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer (D. Tyler Nurnberg, Steven Fruchter, Sarah Gryll) & (local) Young Conaway (same four names as below)
    • Prepetition ABL Agent: Bank of America NA
      • Legal: Winston & Strawn LLP (Jason Bennett, Christina Wheaton)
    • Indenture Trustee: Wilmington Trust NA
      • Legal: Shipman & Goodwin LLP (Marie Hofsdal, Patrick Sibley, Seth Lieberman, Eric Monzo)
    • Ad Hoc Group of Noteholders
      • Legal: Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP (Brian Hermann, Robert Britton, Adam Denhoff, Kellie Cairns) & (local) Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP (Pauline Morgan, Sean Greecher, Andrew Magaziner, Betsy Feldman)
    • Ad Hoc Minority Noteholders Committee (Lord Abbett & Co. LLC, Wilks Brothers LLC)
      • Legal: Brown Rudnick LLP (Robert Stark, Steven Levine, Brian Rice) & (local) Ashby & Geddes PA (William Bowden)
    • Equity Holder: GSO Capital Partners LP
      • Legal: White & Case LLP (J. Christopher Shore, Andrew Zatz, Richard Kebrdle) & (local) Fox Rothschild LLP (Jeffrey Schlerf, Carl Neff, Margaret Manning)

Updated 5/2 5:12 pm CT

New Chapter 11 Filing - VER Technologies Holdco LLC

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VER Technologies Holdco LLC

4/4/18

VER Technologies, a Los Angeles-based provider of for-rent production equipment and engineering support for live and taped television, cinema, live events and broadcast media has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in the District of Delaware. We hadn't heard of these guys before and we're guessing that, unless you live in Los Feliz or Silverlake, you haven't either. Suffice it to say that they're they guys behind the guy, so to speak. Recent broadcast work included the 2018 Super Bowl broadcast (eat it Brady); they also serve over 350 live music customers per year including the Biebs and the band-formerly-known-as-Coldplay-now-called-the-Chainsmokers. 

In some respects, this is a story about attempted avoidance of disruption leading to disruption. The company initially specialized in rentals with no equipment customization but, with time, opted to expand its product and service offerings to include customization. This endeavor, however, proved capital intensive to the point where the company exceeded $270 million on its prepetition asset-backed lending facility. This triggered cash sweeps to the company's bank which proved to further constrain liquidity. This sparked a need for an operational and balance sheet restructuring to maximize cash and get the company to the point of a potential transaction.

In other respects, this is another leveraged buy-out that saddled the target company with a wee bit too much debt. Moreover, the company seems to have undertaken a number of ill-advised or ill-executed operational initiatives that, ultimately, undercut revenue. It happens. 

Now the company -- supported by a restructuring support agreement with its lenders (including funds managed by GSO Capital Partners) -- hopes to facilitate a pre-negotiated merger with an entity controlled by Production Resource Group LLCl ("PRG"). PRG is a Jordan Company-owned provider of entertainment and event technology solutions. Naturally, the term lenders will also own a portion of the reorganized company. Per the term sheet, PRG will get 72% preferred and 80% common; the term lenders will get the delta. The reorganized company will still have a meaningful amount of debt on its balance sheet with a proposed new (unquantified) first lien term loan and a $435 million new second lien term loan. 

The company has secured a proposed $364.7 million DIP credit facility ($300mm ABL, $64.7mm Term Loan, of which $50mm is new money) to support its time in bankruptcy. The company seeks to be in and out of bankruptcy court in approximately 115 days. 

  • Jurisdiction: D. of Delaware (Judge Gross)
  • Capital Structure: $296.3mm ABL Facility (Bank of America NA), $424.2mm term loan (GSO Capital Partners LP/Wilmington Trust NA), $14mm FILO loan, $18.75mm New FTF Inc. Note, $7.5mm Catterton Notes.  
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Kirkland & Ellis LLP (Joshua Sussberg, Ryan Blaine Bennett, Christine Pirro, Jamie Netznik) & (local) Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg LLP (Domenic Pacitti, Morton Branzburg)
    • Financial Advisor/CRO: AlixPartners LLC (Lawrence Young, Stephen Spitzer, Bradley Hunter, Christopher Blacker, James Guyton, Brad Hall)
    • Investment Banker: PJT Partners LP (Nick Leone)
    • Strategic Communications: Joele Frank
    • Independent Director: Eugene Davis
      • Legal: Kramer Levin Naftalis Frankel LLP (Philip Bentley)
    • Claims Agent: KCC (*click on company name above for free docket access)
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • Prepetition ABL Agent and DIP ABL Agent:
      • Legal: Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP (Shana Elberg, Christopher Dressel, Anthony Clark, Robert Weber, Cameron Fee)
      • Financial Advisor: Perella Weinberg Partners
    • DIP Term Loan Agent: Wilmington Trust NA
      • Legal: Alston & Bird LLP (Jason Solomon)
    • Supporting Term Loan Lenders: GSO Capital Partners, ABR Reinsurance Ltd., Consumer Program Administrators Inc., Irving LLC
      • Legal: Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP (Frederick Eisenbeigler, Andrew Gallo, Christopher Carter) & Richards Layton & Finger PA (Mark Collins, Amanda Steele, Joseph Barsalona)
    • 12% Subordinated Noteholder:
      • Legal: King & Spalding LLP (Jeffrey Pawlitz, Michael Handler)
    • Indenture Trustee FTF Note:
      • Legal: Robins Kaplan LLP (Howard Weg, Michael Delaney)
    • Production Resource Group LLC
      • Legal: Greenberg Traurig LLP (Todd Bowen) & Morrison Cohen LLP (Joseph Moldovan, Robert Dakis)
    • Wells Fargo NA
      • Legal: Otterbourg PC (Andrew Kramer)
    • Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors
      • Legal: SulmeyerKupetz PC (Alan Tippie, Mark Horoupian, Victor Sahn, David Kupetz) & (local) Whiteford Taylor & Preston LLC (Christopher Samis, L. Katherine Good, Aaron Stulman, Kevin Hroblak)
      • Financial Advisor: Province Inc. (Carol Cabello) 

Updated 5/19/18

New Chapter 11 Filing - Global A&T Electronics Ltd.

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Global A&T Electronics Ltd. 

  • 12/17/17 Recap: Singapore-based provider of semiconductor assembly and test services for integrated circuits for use in analog, mixed-signal and logic, and memory products across the globe filed for prepackaged bankruptcy...finally. The company had skipped its $56mm interest payment and let its 30-day grace period expire; it has also been the subject of litigation after issuing new notes back in 2014 in exchange for junior debt. The company blames the litigation, an over-levered balance sheet, underspending on capex, and liquidity constraints for its need to reorganize. The company seeks to confirm the case in FOUR DAYS which may be a new record for a bankruptcy of this size. 
  • Jurisdiction: S.D. of New York (Judge Drain)
  • Capital Structure: $1.13b 10% '19 first lien notes ($625mm Initial Nots, $502mm Additional Notes)(Citicorp International Limited)
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Kirkland & Ellis LLP (Marc Kieselstein, Patrick Nash, Gregory Pesce, Michael Slade)
    • Financial Advisor: Alvarez & Marsal LLC (Robert Caruso)
    • Investment Banker: Moelis & Company LLC
    • Disinterested Director: Eugene Davis
    • Claims Agent: Prime Clerk LLC (*click on company name above for free docket access)
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • Ad Hoc Group of Initial Senior Secured Noteholders (GSO Capital Partners LP, IP All Seasons Asian Credit Fund, Brigade Capital Management LP, Southpaw Credit Opportunity Master Fund LP)
      • Legal: Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP (Dennis Dunne, Abhilash Raval, Brian Kinney, Michael Price)
      • Financial Advisor: PJT Partners LP
    • Ad Hoc Committee of Additional Senior Secured Noteholders (Taconic Capital Advisors LP, Marble Ridge Master Fund LP, KLS Diversified Asset Management)
      • Legal: Dechert LLP (Michael Sage, Brian Greer, Janet Doherty)
    • Ad Hoc Committee of Additional Senior Secured Noteholders
      • Legal: Ropes & Gray LLP (Gregg Galardi, Stephen Moeller-Sally, Daniel Anderson)
    • TPG
      • Legal: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (James Bromley, Benjamin Beller)

New Chapter 15 Filing - Mood Media Corporation

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Mood Media Corporation

  • 5/22/17 Recap: Publicly-traded (on the Canadian exchange) provider of sound, sight, and scent solutions for retail, restaurant and hospitality companies has filed for CBCA and Chapter 15 to effectuate a deleveraging transaction. The transaction in brief: noteholders are swapping their 9.25% notes for $500mm new second lien notes and common stock in the reorganized company (subject to upsize via rights offering participation). Equity will get 17 cents on the dollar. The company will also install a $315mm first lien facility. So, it sounds like the company will still have a f*ck-ton of debt on it. But we're just thankful that the company that brags that "We Put People in the Mood to Buy" will still be providing customers of Qdoba, McDonald's & Ikea, to name a few, with the full sensory experience that inspires needless consumerism of unhealthy and/or bad quality food and wares. Those annoying text message offers you might randomly get? Yeah, it's possible that's from Mood Media. Remember muzak? Yeah, that's also Mood Media. Muzak filed for bankruptcy back in February '09 (with Kirkland & Ellis as counsel then too) and emerged a year later with Silver Point Capital Management as the majority owner. Mood Media then bought Muzak for $345mm in March 2011. Pursuant to this transaction, Apollo Global Management LP and GSO Capital Partners will own this sucker.
  • Jurisdiction: S.D. of New York
  • Capital Structure: $250mm first lien term loan (Credit Suisse AG), $350mm '20 9.25% senior unsecured notes (Bank of New York Mellon), $50mm '23 10% senior unsecured MMGSA notes (Computershare Trust Company NA)(subsidiary level)    
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Kirkland & Ellis LLP (James Sprayragen, Edward Sassower, Joshua Sussberg, Adam Paul, Bradley Giordano, Whitney Fogelberg) & (Canadian counsel) Stikeman Elliott LLP (Alexander Rose)
    • Financial Advisor: Allen & Company LLC
    • Investment Banker: Origin Merchant Partners
    • Claims Agent: JND Legal Administration (*click on company name above for free docket access)
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • MMGSA noteholders: GSO Capital Partners LP, Apollo Global Management LLC
      • Legal: Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP (Robert Agar) & (Canadian counsel) Goodmans LLP (Brendan O'Neill)
      • Financial Advisor: Credit Suisse
    • New Lender: HPS Investment Partners LLC
    • The Bank of New York Mellon & BNY Trust Company of Canada
      • Legal: Emmet Marvin & Martin LLP (Edward Zujkowski, Thomas Pitta)

Updated 7/11/17

New Chapter 11 Filing - Panda Temple Power LLC

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Panda Temple Power LLC

  • 4/18/17 Recap: Texas-based gas-operated merchant power generator servicing the ERCOT region filed for bankruptcy because demand projections were too robust (in the face of increasing share serviced by alternative energy sources), depressed natural gas prices crushed revenues, and a regulatory attempt to reform to a capacity market failed, among other reasons. The company had been downgraded and operating pursuant to a forbearance with its lenders. Now, the company is in bankruptcy with a restructuring support agreement that outlines the terms of a transaction that will swap the term loan for 100% of the equity in the company. The company will have a $20mm DIP in play to effectuate the transaction.
  • Jurisdiction: D. of Delaware
  • Capital Structure: $398.7mm funded '22 first lien TL (inclusive of LOC and RCF - Wilmington Trust, NA)  
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Latham & Watkins LLP (Keith Simon, Annemarie Reilly, Marc Zelina) & (local) Richards Layton & Finger (John Knight, Paul Heath, Brendan Schlauch, Christopher De Lillo)
    • Investment Banker: Ducera Partners (Mark Davis)
    • Claims Agent: Prime Clerk LLC (*click on company name for docket)
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • Ad Hoc Group of Term Lenders (Ares Capital Corporation, Avenue Capital Management II LP, Brigade Capital Management LP, Canaras Capital Management, GSO Capital Partners LP, H.I.G. WhiteHorse Capital LLC, Lord Abbett & Co. LLC, MJX Asset Management LLC, Oaktree Capital Management LP, Siemens Financial Services Inc., SOF-X Credit Holdings LLC (Starwood Credit Advisors LLC), Western Asset Management Company)
      • Legal: Stroock Stroock & Lavan LLP (Jayme Goldstein, Jonathan Canfield, Joanne Lau) & (local) Young Conaway & Stargatt LLP (Edmon Morton, Matthew Lunn, Ashley Jacobs)
      • Financial Advisor: Houlihan Lokey
    • 3M Employee Retirement Income Plan Trust
      • Legal: Blank Rome LLP (Jeffrey Rhodes, Ira Herman, Stanley Tarr)

Updated 5/3/17