| Add to balance / Manage account | User: | Log out |
| Prospect News home > News index > List of issuers A > Headlines for Asarco LLC > News item |
Asarco judge still prefers parent plan despite changes from Sterlite
By Caroline Salls
Pittsburgh, Sept. 24 - Bankruptcy court judge Richard S. Schmidt said Thursday that he still prefers the plan of reorganization filed by Asarco LLC parent Asarco Inc. to the one filed by the company, despite recent changes to Asarco LLC's plan, and restated his recommendation that the district court confirm the parent's plan.
As previously reported, Schmidt said in late August that he recommended the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas confirm the plan submitted by Asarco parents Americas Mining Corp. and Asarco Inc. and deny confirmation of the company's plan.
However, Asarco LLC made some changes to its plan on Sept. 10 when plan sponsor Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd. agreed to increase its offer.
"Although Sterlite purports to offer an increased amount of cash to pay claims, this contention simply is not true," Schmidt said in Thursday's ruling.
Schmidt said the plan changes came after Sterlite's own deadline for the bankruptcy court's recommendation and after the parent deposited $2.9 billion in cash and stock in an escrow account in reliance on the recommendation.
As a result, Schmidt said the district court should not consider the post-recommendation plan. If the district court does choose to consider the revised plan, Schmidt said he still feels that the parent plan is superior and should be confirmed.
In addition, Schmidt said if neither plan closes by the end of the year, both plans will likely be lost, leading to a plan that may not pay Asarco's creditors in full.
Asarco, a Tucson, Ariz., mining company, filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 9, 2005 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Its Chapter 11 case number is 05-21207.
© 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.