New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy - EXCO Resources Inc.

EXCO Resources Inc.

  • 1/15/18 Recap: Dallas-based oil and gas exploration and production company filed for bankruptcy with no plan, no buyer, and a $250mm DIP credit facility in hand from the likes of Fairfax Financial Holdings LimitedBluescape Resources Company LLC, and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. ($JPM). The company intends to use bankruptcy to try and find a strategic buyer. Shockingly, it doesn't have a stalking horse bidder, all-the-more-surprising because this bankruptcy filing has been anticipated for a year, if not more. W.L Ross & Co. LLC, the former firm of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross (#MAGA!!), and Oaktree Capital Management Funds ($OAK) are two large equityholders with holdings of 12.5% and 8.29%, respectively. Companies in EXCO's list of top unsecured creditors is a who's who lineup of once-stressed, distressed, or bankrupt companies, including Azure Midstream, Goodrich Petroleum ($GDP), Chesapeake Energy ($CHK), Stallion Oilfield Services, Nuverra Environmental Solutions, and Light Tower Rentals, among others. At the time of this writing, the company hasn't completed its first day filing but do we even need to read the papers to understand why this company with $1.3 billion of total debt is in bankruptcy court? RIght, probably not. 
  • Jurisdiction: S.D. of Texas (Judge Isgur)
  • Capital Structure: $1.35b of debt including $131.5mm 7.5% '18 Senior Notes (Wilmington Savings Fund Society), $70.1mm 8.5% '22 Senior Notes (Wilmington Savings Fund Society). 
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Kirkland & Ellis LLP (Patrick Nash, Christopher Greco, Alexandra Schwarzman, Stephen Hackney, Ryan Moorman) & (local) Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP (Marcus Helt)
    • Financial Advisor: Alvarez & Marsal LLC (John Stuart)
    • Investment Banker: PJT Partners (Steven Zelin, Michael O'Hara, Adam Schlesinger, Zachary Rigoni, Keith Lord, Jeremey Woodard, Scott Meyerson, Gregory Nelson, Emmanuel Recachinas, Aaron Brenner, Tony Yang, Jennifer Wang)
    • Claims Agent: Epiq Bankruptcy Solutions LLC (*click on company name above for free docket access)
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • DIP Lender: JPMorgan Chase Bank NA
      • Legal: Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP (Nicholas Baker, Sandeep Qusba) & (local) Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP (Louis Strubeck, Kristian Gluck, Ryan Manns)
    • DIP Lender: Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited
      • Legal: Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP (Andrew Glenn, Eric Taube, Adam Shiff, Emily Kuznick, Shai Schmidt)
    • Indenture Trustee: Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB
      • Legal: Seward & Kissel LLP (John Ashmead, Robert Gayda, Catherine LoTempio)
    • Cross Sound Management
      • Legal: Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP (Benjamin Finestone, K. John Shaffer) & (local) Jackson Walker LLP (Patricia Tomasco, Matthew Cavenaugh)
    • Gen IV Investment Opportunities LLC and VEGA Asset Partners LLC
      • Legal: White & Case LLP (Thomas Lauria, Michael Shepherd) & (local) Gray Reed & McGraw (Jason Brookner)
    • Bluescape Resources Company LLC
      • Legal: Bracewell LLP (Kurt Mayr, David Lawton, Jason Cohen)
    • Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors
      • Legal: Brown Rudnick LLP (Robert Stark, Kenneth Aulet, Sigmund Wissner-Gross, Gerard Cicero, Steven Levine) & (local) Jackson Walker LLP (Patricia Tomasco, Matthew Cavenaugh)
      • Financial Advisor: FTI Consulting Inc. (Andrew Scruton)
      • Investment Bank: Intrepid Partners LLC (Matthew Hart)

Updated 4/1/18 at 12:13 CT