A bankruptcy judge in Houston has issued an order accepting a Chapter 11 reorganization plan filed by the struggling oilfield service company Weatherford International.
Weatherford Chief Financial Officer Christoph Bausch was among the witnesses and experts who testified at a Wednesday afternoon hearing at Houston’s federal courthouse.
The hearing ended with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones issuing an order accepting the company’s amended Chapter 11 reorganization plan.
The approved plan gives Weatherford access to $600 million in credit and the ability to issue $1.6 billion of notes that will be used to pay down debt.
Facing more than $10 billion in debt and other liabilities, Weatherford filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 1 in a prepackaged plan that was supported by 80 percent of the company’s creditors.
Since that initial filing, the oilfield service company has filed two amended reorganization plans, with similar levels of support from creditors.
The plan approved by Jones allows creditors holding general unsecured claims to be paid “in the ordinary course of business” while stockholders will receive proportionate shares of the company’s new stock.
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