Four Curtis Restructuring Matters Honored as Top Restructurings of 2013

Four restructuring matters handled by Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP have been selected as Top Successful Restructurings of 2013 by Turnaround & Workouts. Curtis served as conflict counsel to the respective debtors in each of Patriot Coal Corporation's, American Roads LLC's, and Hawker Beechcraft Corporation's Chapter 11 cases, and served as conflicts counsel to the official committee of unsecured creditors in the Chapter 11 case of KV Pharmaceutical Company.

Turnaround and Workouts is a leading newsletter covering bankruptcy and distressed businesses. It cited the four matters, as follows:

Patriot Coal Corporation “fundamentally transformed its businesses in 18 months.” Patriot Coal, a supplier of coal to a diverse base of domestic and international customers, filed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in July 2012, listing $3.6 billion in assets and $3.1 billion of debt, including significant union and pension obligations. Within 18 months, Patriot emerged from bankruptcy with lower debt, reduced legacy obligations for post-employment benefits, reduced operating costs. Patriot Coal preserved thousands of jobs as a result of its successful bankruptcy reorganization. Curtis acted with Patriot Coal's lead restructuring counsel at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

American Roads LLC “obtained a landmark decision regarding the issue of bondholder standing, which paved the way for plan confirmation a mere 40 days after commencement of the bankruptcy case.” American Roads, a privately-held company which owns and operates toll road facilities in the United States and Canada, filed for bankruptcy in July 2013 with a prepackaged Chapter 11 plan of reorganization to restructure over $830 million in debt relating to swaps and bonds insured by Syncora Guarantee Inc. Curtis worked with American Roads' lead counsel, Cleary Gottleib Stein & Hamilton LLP, to ensure a successful restructuring.

Hawker Beechcraft Corporation, “a world-leading manufacturer of business, special mission, light attack and trainer aircraft, underwent a comprehensive restructuring effectuated through a pre-arranged Chapter 11 that resulted in a de-leveraging of all of the company's prepetition funded debt and an overhaul of its operations.” Hawker Beechcraft filed its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in May 2012 and emerged from bankruptcy less than a year later in February 2013. The company eliminated approximately $2.6 billion in debt, addressed hundreds of millions of dollars of pension underfunding, streamlined the company's business operations, maximized value for the company's creditors, and preserved jobs for more than 5,000 employees. Curtis worked with the Debtors' lead restructuring counsel, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, on this intensive restructuring.

KV Pharmaceutical Company did not have a plan of reorganization in place when the debtors filed for Chapter 11, and a debt of almost $700 million “made reorganization extremely challenging.” Following months of negotiations to restructure the debt, KV, a specialty pharmaceutical marketing company primarily focused on women's health care products, emerged from bankruptcy in September 2013 pursuant to a confirmed Chapter 11 plan of reorganization. The confirmed plan incorporated a rights offering which allowed participating creditors to become owners of reorganized KV and served as a vehicle to settle ongoing litigation issues that had threatened to extend the case. Curtis worked with and addressed issues that could not be raised by the lead creditors' committee counsel at Strook & Strook & Lavan LLP.

Curtis' Restructuring and Insolvency group regularly advises debtors, creditors' committees, secured and unsecured creditors, financial institutions, equity owners and investors, trustees, liquidators and court-appointed fiduciaries, and foreign and domestic governmental agencies in all facets of restructuring and insolvency matters both in and out of court. Curtis has developed a national reputation as the leading law firm in “conflicts counsel” engagements in large and complex Chapter 11 restructurings on both the debtor and creditors' committee sides.

Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP is a leading international law firm providing a broad range of services to clients around the world. Curtis has 16 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East as well as Central and East Asia. The firm's international orientation has been a hallmark of its practice for nearly two centuries. For more information about Curtis, please visit www.curtis.com.