Relevant Documents:AgendaInterim DIP OrderScheduling Order
Judge David Jones granted the Venator Materials debtors’ requested
first day relief at an uncontested hearing this evening, including interim
DIP financing approval. The proposed DIP facility is backstopped by members of the
ad hoc term lender group represented by White & Case and the
ad hoc cross-holder group represented by Gibson Dunn and includes a $275 million priming new-money senior secured term facility and a rollup of $190 million in prepetition ABL obligations. Today’s interim DIP approval permits the debtors to draw $100 million on the new-money facility.
The court scheduled the second day hearing for June 12 at 2:30 p.m. ET, with objections due seven days prior to the hearing. As requested in the debtors’ scheduling motion, which was also granted today, the court set the combined disclosure statement approval and plan confirmation hearing for June 26 at 4:30 p.m. ET.
At the outset of the hearing, debtors’ counsel Steven Serajeddini of Kirkland & Ellis stressed that because “the parties here did their work early,” the debtors were pleased to present a “fully consensual” prepackaged case and expect a “smooth ride” in chapter 11. Jeffrey Michalik of Kirkland & Ellis later noted that the “company was running on fumes at the time that we filed” but is grateful that the “competitive process” enabled it to “get to a value-maximizing proposal.”
Scott Greenberg of Gibson Dunn for the crossholder group and Scott Greissman of White & Case for the term lender group appeared on behalf of their respective ad hoc groups in support of the parties’ deal and proposed restructuring. Both ad hoc groups acknowledged that there had been disputes between the two groups before the chapter 11 filing, with Greissman saying that he would not get “into it” because it was “water under the bridge.”
Several proposed first day orders were revised slightly to incorporate comments from the U.S. Trustee.