Akin Gump Advises Vanguard Natural Resources Creditors Through Company’s Financial Restructuring

(New York) – Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC (Vanguard) has announced it has successfully completed its financial restructuring and emerged from chapter 11 as a new corporation under the name of Vanguard Natural Resources, Inc. Akin Gump served as legal counsel to the official committee of unsecured creditors during Vanguard’s chapter 11 cases.

Through its financial restructuring and sale of non-core assets while in chapter 11, Vanguard eliminated approximately $820 million of secured and unsecured debt from its balance sheet and significantly enhanced its financial flexibility. Under Vanguard’s chapter 11 plan, senior unsecured noteholders are receiving 97 percent of the new common stock of the reorganized company (prior to dilution) and general unsecured creditors are entitled to distributions of cash or new common stock (at their election) with recoveries expected to range from 8.2-12 percent.  In addition, certain unsecured trade creditors are expected to receive cash recoveries of 100 percent.

Michael Stamer, a partner in the financial restructuring practice at Akin Gump, led the team advising the creditors. He was joined by financial restructuring partners Abid Qureshi and Meredith Lahaie and counsel Kevin Zuzolo. Corporate partner Stephen Kuhn and oil and gas partner David Sweeney also provided advice on the restructuring and matters related to Vanguard’s sale of non-core assets, which resulted in sale proceeds in excess of $110 million.

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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