Weatherford International Plc officially entered bankruptcy July 1 with a planned restructuring to clear up more than $5.8 billion of long-term debt.
Similar to other oilfield service providers, Weatherford was hit hard by the 2014 oil price downturn. Despite efforts under CEO Mark McCollum, who joined Weatherford in 2017, the company continued to struggle with a heavy debt load and eventually saw its stock removed from the New York Stock Exchange in May.
As a result, Weatherford, which reported total liabilities of $10.6 billion and assets of $6.52 billion at the end of March, said May 10 it planned to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
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In the company’s pre-packaged plan of reorganization announced July 1, Weatherford will embark on a financial restructuring to reduce its long-term debt and related interest costs plus receive additional financings that will establish “a more sustainable capital structure,” the company said in its release.
In the meantime, Weatherford plans to continue operating its businesses without any disruption to its customers and other partners.
Founded in the early 1940s, Weatherford today has grown to become the fourth-largest oilfield service provider in the sector. The company, headquartered in Switzerland, operates in over 80 countries with about 26,000 employees, according to its press release.
Weatherford plans to use a $1.75 billion of debtor-in-possession financing to fund its operations during its bankruptcy. Additionally, Weatherford said it expects to receive up to $1.25 billion in a post-emergence financing.
Lazard is acting as Weatherford’s financial adviser. Latham & Watkins LLP is its legal counsel while Alvarez & Marsal is its restructuring adviser. Meanwhile, Evercore is the financial adviser for the group of the company’s senior noteholders with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as legal counsel.
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP is representing Weatherford International LLC as debtors’ counsel in its Chapter 11 filing, the international law firm said in a separate release. The Hunton Andrews Kurth team is led by partner Tad Davidson and associate Ashley Harper.
Emily Patsy can be reached at epatsy@hartenergy.com.
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