Akin Gump Advises on One of Turnarounds & Workouts’ Most Successful Restructurings in 2016
(New York) – Turnarounds & Workouts has selected the restructuring of Walter Energy—a matter in which Akin Gump served as counsel to the informal group of senior secured lenders and noteholders—as one of its most successful restructurings of 2016.
Walter Energy is a leading producer and exporter of metallurgical coal for the global steel industry. Its restructuring, according to the publication, “was one of the heavyweight events of 2016, totaling more than $3 billion in debt,” and included the sale of core assets free and clear to senior secured lenders and noteholders.
Turnarounds & Workouts writes that Walter Energy and its lenders “successfully prosecuted over vigorous objection motions, among other things, terminating existing union collective bargaining agreements and allowing withdrawal from a significantly underfunded multi-employer pension plan.” In the end, the restructuring “successfully preserved and enhanced the ongoing business, saved employees’ jobs, and maximized recoveries to creditors.”
The Akin Gump team working on the matter included financial restructuring partners Ira Dizengoff, James Savin and Lisa Beckerman.
Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
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