Hogan Lovells advises Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in Chapter 11 Speedcast International case
New York / Los Angeles, 08 February 2021 – Global Law firm Hogan Lovells has advised the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors in the Chapter 11 case of Speedcast International Limited (Speedcast), the largest provider of remote and offshore satellite communications in the world that spans 40 countries with approximately US$1billion in liabilities.
The Chapter 11 Case heard in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas has confirmed Speedcast and certain of its affiliates’ plan of reorganization.
The confirmation clears the path for the company to successfully complete the Chapter 11 process after receiving final regulatory approvals and satisfying customary closing conditions.
Under the terms of the plan, Speedcast is set to emerge with a new US$500m equity investment from Centerbridge, which will be used in part to repay all of its US$285m debtor-in-possession financing, as well as a permanent reduction of all of the US$634m senior secured debt of the company.
The plan also provides for, among other things, a cash payment to holders of secured claims and an aggregate of US$25m in cash payments to Speedcast’s essential trade vendors. Other unsecured creditors will share in any recoveries from a litigation trust seeded with US$2.5m.
Speedcast first announced its decision to recapitalize its business through voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings on April 23, 2020.
The Hogan Lovells team advising the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors was led by a global, cross-practice team comprising BRI partner David Simonds (Los Angeles), co-head of the firm’s U.S. Business Restructuring and Insolvency (BRI) practice Ron Silverman (New York), BRI counsel John Beck (New York), and BRI associates Jennifer Lee (New York) and Baraka Nasari (New York).
Key support also included M&A partner Randy Segal (Northern Virginia), litigation partner Michael Hefter (New York), litigation partner Seth Cohen (New York), tax partner Scott Friedman (New York), tax senior counsel Daniel Davidson (Washington, D.C.), global regulatory partner Logan Breed (Washington D.C.), BRI partner Scott Harris (Sydney), BRI partner Jonathan Leitch (Hong Kong), capital markets partner Isabel Carvalho (Sao Paulo), and tax, pensions & benefits partner Karen Hughes (London); BRI counsel James Hewer (Perth), M&A counsel Phil Ehrlich (New York); banking senior associate Derrick Lau (Hong Kong), BRI senior associates Naomi Parmer (London) and Carol Hartopp Hall (Singapore); BRI associates Luke Hiller-Addis (London), Genevieve Guiney (London), banking senior associate Lina Perez (Los Angeles), banking associate Katrina Yap (London), and litigation associate Peter Bautz (New York).
The full release can be accessed here.