December 9, 2016
U.S.

Noble Environmental wins court approval of bankruptcy-exit plan

Dow Jones Business News | December 09, 2016 | www.nasdaq.com

Noble Environmental Power LLC, a bankrupt wind-energy company backed by billionaire Michael Dell, has won court approval for its restructuring plan.

Judge Kevin Gross on Friday approved the plan, which allows the company’s key lender, Mr. Dell’s MSD Capital, to take a 100% stake in the reorganized wind-energy company, according to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

The chapter 11 restructuring plan will repay nearly all of the Centerbrook, Conn., energy company’s creditors in full, including general unsecured creditors.

Mr. Dell, Dell Inc.’s chairman and chief executive who took his namesake computer company private in 2013 for $25 billion, has a personal net worth of $19.9 billion and is No. 20 on Forbes magazine’s list of the richest Americans. Dell, meanwhile, recently completed its $60 billion deal to acquire EMC Corp., the largest technology merger in history.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which owned a 29% stake in the wind-farm company, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, a Canadian pension fund that owns 14.3%, will see their existing equity stakes wiped out under the deal.

Noble entered chapter 11 protection in September with plans to hand over 100% control of its business to Mr. Dell’s investment firm.

Founded in 2004, Noble is a holding company for seven wind parks in New York and Texas, capable of generating 726 megawatts of energy. The wind-power company’s subsidiaries, which own and operate the seven wind farms, didn’t file for bankruptcy.

Among Noble’s most valuable assets, according to court papers, are $691 million in so-called net operating losses, which a reorganized company can use to offset future taxes.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/12/09/noble-environmental-wins-court-approval-of-bankruptcy-exit-plan/