Dura bondholder representative asks court to postpone plan confirmation hearing

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, April 16 - Dura Automotive Systems, Inc. bondholder representative J.W. Korth asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to postpone the hearing on confirmation of the company's plan of reorganization to allow Korth to gather and analyze related information, according to a Wednesday court filing.

The plan confirmation hearing is scheduled for May 13.

Korth said Dura has not provided much of the information he has requested, including numerous balance sheets and income statements for 2006 through 2008, a description of components showing investment in non-debtor subsidiaries, patent valuations and a statement related to a management contract sales incentive provision.

"For this reason, and the probability we may need to ask for additional information and take depositions to clarify certain matters, we ask that you move the confirmation hearing and the related objection date to a date which we can all agree that we will have the information and the analysis time necessary to properly make our objections," Korth said in the motion.

As previously reported, Korth sought court approval in March to examine company records in connection with an independent value assessment.

Korth is a managing partner of J.W. Korth & Co., an investment bank that owns, together with its customers, more than $100 million of Dura's 8 5/8% senior bonds and 9% subordinated bonds.

According to the examination motion, Korth was hired by the bondholder customers and other informal committee members to assess Dura's value because the clients and committee members will either recover 19% of their investments or nothing, depending on whether they own junior or senior bonds.

Korth said the recovery under Dura's latest plan is 75% less than the bondholders were scheduled to receive under the company's original plan.

A hearing on the postponement motion is scheduled for April 23.

Dura, a Rochester Hills, Mich.-based automotive parts maker, filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 30, 2006. Its Chapter 11 case number is 06-11202.

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