Cloud communications company Avaya Holdings and a dozen of its affiliated businesses filed for bankruptcy Tuesday in the Southern District of Texas seeking to shave billions of dollars of debt from its balance sheet.
The North Carolina-based company, which two years ago this week had a market cap of $31 billion, has seen earnings plunge and stock prices crater. Facing an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a major upheaval within its upper management, Avaya’s stock fell to 28 cents on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, leaving it with a market cap of less than $24 million.
Avaya announced that Kirkland & Ellis and Jackson Walker will be the debtor’s lead legal advisors in the Houston bankruptcy. Evercore Group has been retained as the investment banker, AlixPartners as the restructuring advisor and PricewaterhouseCoopers as the auditor.
In its Chapter 11 filing, the company reported less than $50 million in assets but $1 billion to $10 billion in liabilities.
Avaya, in a first day filing, said that 90 percent of secured lenders have agreed to a restructuring plan that would trim its $3.4 billion debt load to about $800 million.
The case is Avaya Inc, 23-90088.