Texas Rangers disclosure statement approved; plan hearing July 9

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, June 22 - Texas Rangers Baseball Partners received court approval of the disclosure statement for its pre-packaged plan of reorganization, according to a Monday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas.

The plan confirmation hearing is scheduled for July 9.

As previously reported, the company filed for bankruptcy to complete the proposed $575 million sales of the team and its lease of the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and the land around the ballpark.

The team will be sold to Rangers Baseball Express LLC. The buyer's principals include Texas Rangers president Nolan Ryan and sports lawyer and minor league club owner Chuck Greenberg.

Texas Rangers Baseball Partners is a general partnership in which Rangers Equity Holdings, LP holds a 99% partnership interest and Rangers Equity Holdings GP, LLC holds a 1% partnership interest. Rangers Equity GP is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rangers Equity LP.

Both Rangers Equity LP and Rangers Equity GP are holding companies with no operating assets and are indirect, wholly owned subsidiaries of team owner Thomas O. Hicks-affiliate HSG Sports Group LLC.

The company said its pre-packaged plan of reorganization provides enough sale proceeds for the Rangers creditors to recover 100% of the portion of HSG Sports Group's debt that is guaranteed by the Rangers and for all Rangers creditors to be paid in full.

Treatment of creditors will include:

• Holders of first-lien and second-lien claims will receive $75 million in cash with post-bankruptcy interest or the amount outstanding under the first-lien and second-lien credit agreements if that amount totals less than $75 million;

• Holders of MLB pre-bankruptcy claims will be paid in full from sale proceeds;

• Holders of assumed general unsecured claims will be paid by the purchaser when their claim comes due in the ordinary course of business;

• Holders of non-assumed general unsecured claims will be paid in full in cash or receive other treatment that leaves the claim unaltered;

• Holders of the Emerald Diamond claim and overdraft protection agreement claims will be paid in full in cash;

• The rights of holders of intercompany claims will remain unaltered; and

• Texas Rangers Baseball Partners equity interests will remain unaltered.

Texas Rangers, an Arlington, Texas, baseball team, filed for bankruptcy on May 24. Its Chapter 11 case number is 10-43400.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.