😷New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing - Promise Healthcare Group LLC😷

Promise Healthcare Group LLC

November 5, 2018

Most professionals predicted at the start of 2018 that healthcare would be an active industry for restructuring activity. Instead, there’s only been a few cases here and there — nothing to really stand out from the crowd in terms of volume. And, so just when we’re on the verge of declaring that prediction utterly and emphatically wrong, here is Promise Healthcare Group LLC and its affiliated debtors — another short-term and long-term acute care and nursing facility operator in bankruptcy court (with DLA Piper and FTI Consulting in tow, a seemingly regular occurrence these days in sizable healthcare matters).

Why is another large acute care operator in bankruptcy? The debtors blame the usual deplorables, i.e., reimbursement rate declines, capital-intensive and ultimately-abandoned new business projects, underperforming facilities, and an “unsustainable balance sheet.” Consequently, it undertook performance improvement measures, including the closure of two facilities and the sh*tcanning of 147 full-time equivalent employees. This, collectively, freed up a total of $13.5mm but vendors had begun squeezing the company in such a way that this amount, alone, wasn’t enough to cash flow to sustain the debtors.

The debtors intend to (i) sell non-core assets and real estate to payoff certain secured creditors (including one in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, to the L.A. Downtown Medical Center for $84.15mm) and (ii) otherwise market and sell substantially all of the rest of their assets or, if an equity sponsor emerges, restructure. They intend to do this within six months (anyone want to take the under?). The company has a $85mm DIP commitment ($20mm new money) to fund the process.

  • Jurisdiction: D. of Delaware

  • Capital Structure: $61.6mm Revolver, $15mm TL debt, $200mm intercompany debt (two loans)

  • Company Professionals:

    • Legal: Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP (John Tishler, Katie Stenberg, Blake Roth, Tyler Layne) & (local) DLA Piper LLP (Stuart Brown, Kaitlin MacKenzie Edelman, Erik Stier, Matthew Sarna)

    • CRO/Financial Advisor: FTI Consulting Inc. (Andrew Hinkelman, Jennifer Byrne, Chris Goff)

    • Investment Banker: Houlihan Lokey Capital Inc. (Andrew Turnbull, Matthew Ryan, Scott Kremeier, Moyo Mamora, Brian Marks, Marc Epstein, Conor Dorgan) and MTS Health Partners LP (Jay Shiland)

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

  • Other Parties in Interest:

    • Prepetition Administrative Agent: Wells Fargo Bank NA

      • Legal: McGuireWoods LLP (Brian Swett, Alexandra Shipley) & (local) Richards Layton & Finger PA (John Knight, Amanda Steele, David Queroli)

    • Healthcare Services Group Inc.

      • Legal: Stevens & Lee P.C. (Joseph Huston Jr., Evan Coren, Robert Lapowsky)

    • Stalking Horse Purchaser: Select Medical Corporation

      • Legal: Dechert LLP (Brian Greer, Stephen Leitzell, Jonathan Stott) & (local) Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP (Robert Brady, Sean Greecher)

    • Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (HEB Ababa, Ronaldoe Guiterrez and Yolanda Penney, Cardinal Health, Wound Care Management LLC d/b/a MEDCENTRIS, Freedom Medical Inc., Morrison Management Specialists Inc., Efficient Management Resources Systems Inc., Surgical Program Development)

      • Legal: Sills Cummis & Gross P.C. (Andrew Sherman, Boris Mankovetskiy, Rachel Brennan) & (local) Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP (Jeffrey Pomerantz, Alan Kornfeld, Bradford Sandler, Maxim Litvak, Colin Robinson)

      • Financial Advisor: Province Inc. (Edward Kim, Paul Huygens, Carol Cabello, Jorge Gonzalez, Carlos Lovera, Paul Navid)

Updated 3/9/18

New Chapter 11 Filing - The NORDAM Group, Inc.

The NORDAM Group, Inc.

7/22/18

A promising contract can sometimes prove to be an albatross. Here, The Nordam Group Inc., an Oklahoma-based aircraft component manufacturing and repair company, has filed for bankruptcy after a long-term development and manufacturing agreement ("LTPA") with Pratt & Whitney Canada Corporation ("P&WC") to develop, manufacture, and support an FAA-approved nacelle system for the Gulfstream G500 aircraft proved overly burdensome. Per the company:

"The Debtors currently estimate that their expenses incurred under the LTPA exceed $200 million. These expenses have, in turn, challenged overall financial performance, with EBITDA declining from approximately $88 million in fiscal year 2008 to approximately $50 million in fiscal year 2017. These financial challenges have further impacted the Debtors’ balance sheet and available liquidity, including with respect to the Debtors’ revolving credit facility, which matured on June 18, 2018 with approximately $266.5 million outstanding."

Harsh. After failing to successfully negotiate a resolution to these issues with both its bank group and P&WC, the company has filed for bankruptcy to leverage the Bankruptcy Code's "breathing spell" and, presumably, contract rejection provisions under section 365. The company seeks access to a $45mm DIP credit facility to fund its cases. 

  • Jurisdiction: D. of Delaware (Judge Walrath)
  • Capital Structure: $266.5mm RCF (JPMorgan Chase Bank NA), $19.2mm unsecured promissory notes   
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP (Ray Schrock, Ryan Preston Dahl, Jill Frizzley) & (local) Richards Layton & Finger PA (Daniel DeFranceschi, Paul Heath, Brett Haywood, Megan Kenney)
    • Financial Advisor: Huron Consulting Group Inc. (John DiDonato, Matthew Fisher)
    • Investment Banker: Guggenheim Securities LLC (Ronen Bojmel)
    • Claims Agent: Epiq Bankruptcy Solutions LLC (*click on company name above for free docket access)
    • Independent Directors: David Eaton, Thomas Allison
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • Prepetition Agent & DIP Agent: JPMorgan Chase Bank NA
      • Legal: Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP 
    • P&WC
      • Legal: Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz (Philip Mindlin, Douglas Mayer) & (local) Stevens & Lee PC (Joseph Huston Jr.)

Updated: 7/23 at 2:09 CT

New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy - Dextera Surgical Inc. ($DXTR)

Dextera Surgical Inc.

  • 12/11/17 Recap: Publicly-traded ($DXTR) California based med-device company that designs and and manufactures proprietary stapling devices that enable the advancement of minimally invasive surgical procedures has filed for bankruptcy to effectuate a sale. Why bankruptcy? Per the company's pleadings, "Dextera invested in obtaining regulatory clearances and product development, evaluation, and manufacturing, but experienced interruptions in the ability to produce both staplers and staple reload cartridges to meet customer demand. It also incurred substantial operating losses that significantly impacted liquidity, ultimately leading to the need to file the Chapter 11 Case." The company has lined up a stalking horse purchaser (Aesculap Inc.) who also happens to be the provider of $1.5mm in DIP financing to effectuate the case. The purchase price is reported to be approximately $17.3mm. 
  • Jurisdiction: D. of Delaware (Judge Carey)
  • Capital Structure: $4mm 5% secured note     
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP (Mark Minuti, Teresa Currier, Monique DiSabatino)
    • Special Legal: Cooley LLP (Robert Eisenbach)
    • Financial Advisor: JMP Securities LLC
    • Claims Agent: Rust Consulting/Omni Bankruptcy (*click on company name above for free docket access)
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • DIP Lender/Stalking Horse Bidder: Aesculap Inc.
      • Legal: Stevens & Lee PC (Joseph Huston Jr., Robert Lapowsky)

Updated 12/13/17