Post by Clouseau on Sept 28, 2006 1:31:26 GMT
today.reuters.com
Owens Corning says court OKs bankruptcy plan
LOS ANGELES, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Owens Corning (OWENQ.OB: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday a U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved its reorganization plan, paving the way for the insulation maker to emerge from bankruptcy after six years by the end of October 2006.
The plan ends years of wrangling with banks, bondholders and asbestos victims. Before the announcement, shares of the Toledo, Ohio-based company closed down 15 cents, or nearly 18 percent, at 70 cents.
The company's exit financing will come from new equity, new debt financing and existing debt, it said in a statement.
The plan approved by the court for the District of Delaware calls for a total distribution valued at $8.627 billion. That distribution consists of an enterprise value of $5.858 billion, and assumed excess cash of $1.432 billion.
Also included in the distribution is $1.491 billion in Fibreboard and asbestos trust assets. In May, the company agreed to pay more than $5.1 billion to people sickened by asbestos made by the company.
"This plan allows us to achieve that objective through the funding of a Trust that will allow those affected by asbestos to be compensated in the near future," said Dave Brown, Owens Corning's president and chief executive officer.
The company, known for its Pink Panther mascot, filed for Chapter 11 protection in October 2000, weighed down by hundreds of thousands of asbestos lawsuits involving its Kaylo brand insulation, which it sold from the late 1950s to the early 1970s.
Asbestos was once widely used as insulation and fire retardant but scientists found in the 1960s and 1970s that its inhaled fibers caused lung cancer and other diseases.
Owens Corning stopped using asbestos in its insulation in 1972.
Owens Corning said its creditors and shareholders overwhelmingly supported the plan, including the asbestos, bondholder, and trade creditor classes, and bank debt holders.
Before it can emerge from bankruptcy, the plan must also be approved by Judge John Fullam of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the company said.
Following district court approval of the plan, Owens Corning must complete certain administrative steps before it can emerge from Chapter 11.
LOS ANGELES, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Owens Corning (OWENQ.OB: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Tuesday a U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved its reorganization plan, paving the way for the insulation maker to emerge from bankruptcy after six years by the end of October 2006.
The plan ends years of wrangling with banks, bondholders and asbestos victims. Before the announcement, shares of the Toledo, Ohio-based company closed down 15 cents, or nearly 18 percent, at 70 cents.
The company's exit financing will come from new equity, new debt financing and existing debt, it said in a statement.
The plan approved by the court for the District of Delaware calls for a total distribution valued at $8.627 billion. That distribution consists of an enterprise value of $5.858 billion, and assumed excess cash of $1.432 billion.
Also included in the distribution is $1.491 billion in Fibreboard and asbestos trust assets. In May, the company agreed to pay more than $5.1 billion to people sickened by asbestos made by the company.
"This plan allows us to achieve that objective through the funding of a Trust that will allow those affected by asbestos to be compensated in the near future," said Dave Brown, Owens Corning's president and chief executive officer.
The company, known for its Pink Panther mascot, filed for Chapter 11 protection in October 2000, weighed down by hundreds of thousands of asbestos lawsuits involving its Kaylo brand insulation, which it sold from the late 1950s to the early 1970s.
Asbestos was once widely used as insulation and fire retardant but scientists found in the 1960s and 1970s that its inhaled fibers caused lung cancer and other diseases.
Owens Corning stopped using asbestos in its insulation in 1972.
Owens Corning said its creditors and shareholders overwhelmingly supported the plan, including the asbestos, bondholder, and trade creditor classes, and bank debt holders.
Before it can emerge from bankruptcy, the plan must also be approved by Judge John Fullam of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the company said.
Following district court approval of the plan, Owens Corning must complete certain administrative steps before it can emerge from Chapter 11.