Suntech support agreement calls for Chapter 15 case, U.S. recognition

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Feb. 3 - Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. signed a restructuring support agreement related to the involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy case filed against it, according to a news release.

Under the agreement signed by the petitioners for the Chapter 7 proceeding, the company, its joint provisional liquidators and some supporting holders of its 3% convertible senior notes, the Chapter 7 proceedings have been stayed and a stipulation for the dismissal of the case will be filed following U.S. court recognition of the provisional liquidation proceeding previously filed by the company in the Cayman Islands.

The agreement requires the joint provisional liquidators to file a Chapter 15 petition on behalf of Suntech by Feb. 21. The petitioners and supporting noteholders will support that petition.

Also under the agreement, the company's restructuring must treat all beneficial noteholders equally, and Suntech is required to dismiss appeals of judgments obtained by the petitioners related to the payment of the notes held by the petitioners.

The support agreement also requires the bankruptcy court to recognize the Cayman Islands restructuring proceedings by May 31 and the Cayman Islands restructuring to be approved by Dec. 31, 2014.

"This agreement hopefully allows us to continue to proceed with the company's Cayman Islands restructuring to preserve value in the interests of all stakeholders," court-appointed joint provisional liquidator David Walker said in the release.

An involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy case was filed against Suntech, a Wuxi, China-based manufacturer and distributor of solar panels, on Oct. 14 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The Chapter 7 case number is 13-13350.

© 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.