Rebecca Blake Chaikin
Overview
Rebecca Chaikin is a restructuring partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Rebecca's practice focuses on all aspects of corporate restructuring, bankruptcy, and financial distress.
Experience
Representative Matters
Representing Denbury Resources Inc. and 17 of its affiliates in their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Denbury is an independent oil and natural gas company headquartered in Plano, Texas, with onshore production and development activities in the Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountains regions. Denbury is the only United States-based public company of scale with a primary focus on sustainable carbon dioxide enhanced oil recovery. With approximately $2.5 billion in funded debt, Denbury entered bankruptcy with a Restructuring Support Agreement that carries broad creditor support and provides for a comprehensive financial restructuring that will equitize all $2.1 billion of Denbury’s notes and committed debtor-in-possession and exit financing from Denbury’s existing lenders.
Representing J. C. Penney Company, Inc. and 17 of its affiliates in their pre-arranged Chapter 11 cases. JCPenney, an iconic American retail staple tracing its roots back to 1902, includes private brands such as Liz Claiborne, St. John’s Bay, Stafford, and Arizona Jean Co. JCPenney employs more than 85,000 people, manages a massive supply chain with nearly 3,000 vendors and eleven domestic shipping facilities, and operates approximately 850 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, in addition to a substantial e-commerce business. With approximately $4.9 billion in debt, JCPenney entered bankruptcy with a Restructuring Support Agreement that carries broad first lien stakeholder support and is expected to substantially de-lever the company’s balance sheet.
Representing Destination Maternity Corporation and certain of its affiliates, the largest national omni-channel maternity apparel retailer, in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. As of filing, Destination Maternity operated approximately 436 stores in the U.S. and Canada, 423 leased departments in big-box retailer stores, ten international franchise locations, and three e-commerce sites in the U.S. and Canada. The existing lenders in the Chapter 11 cases agreed to provide the company access to liquidity to fund the Chapter 11 cases and support the ongoing marketing process, which contemplates consummating a sale transaction before the end of 2019.
Represented Jones Energy Inc. and its affiliates in their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Texas. Jones Energy is an Austin, Texas based independent oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development, production, and acquisition of oil and gas properties in the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma and Texas that fully equitized over $1 billion in funded debt and preferred equity obligations. Jones obtained confirmation of its uncontested plan just three weeks after filing.
Represented Sungard AS Capital, Inc. and its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York, in the fastest Chapter 11 case in history. Sungard AS obtained confirmation in less than 19 hours on May 2, 2019. In addition, Sungard AS emerged from Chapter 11 faster than any company in history—staying in Chapter 11 for less than 48 hours. Sungard AS, a provider of availability and recovery services, had approximately $1.26 billion in funded debt at the commencement of its Chapter 11 cases and deleveraged by over $900 million upon emergence.
Represented FullBeauty Brands Holdings Corp. and its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York. FullBeauty is an online plus-size apparel retailer that had $1.27 billion in funded debt at the commencement of filing. This was the first Chapter 11 case in history to obtain confirmation of a prepackaged Chapter 11 plan in less than 24 hours on February 4, 2019. FullBeauty emerged shortly thereafter on February 7, 2019.
Represented Charming Charlie, a Houston based specialty retailer focused on fashion jewelry, handbags, apparel, gifts and beauty products, in its Chapter 11 restructuring in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. As of the Petition Date, the Company operates more than 375 stores in the United States and Canada. Charming Charlie entered into a restructuring support agreement with a majority of its term loan lenders and equity sponsors which provides for a comprehensive financial and operational restructuring that will significantly reduce the Company’s funded debt obligations and establish a sustainable capital structure.
Representing Energy Future Holdings Corp. and its affiliates (collectively, "EFH") in their Chapter 11 cases pending in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. EFH — the largest generator, distributor and certified retail provider of electricity in Texas — is the product of the largest leveraged buy-out in history. With over $49 billion in liabilities and $36 billion in assets, EFH's Chapter 11 case is the largest operating Chapter 11 case ever filed in Delaware and one of the largest Chapter 11 cases filed in history.
Represented Sequa Corporation in its successful refinancing and out-of-court restructuring of approximately $1.9 billion of funded indebtedness. Pursuant to the consensual restructuring, Sequa obtained a significant new money investment, its senior credit facilities were refinanced in full, and over 90 percent of its unsecured notes were exchanged for new convertible preferred equity.
Represented Penn Virginia Corporation in its prearranged Chapter 11 restructuring in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The Company filed for Chapter 11 with a support agreement with all of its secured debt and a supermajority of its unsecured debt regarding a transaction that will reduce the company’s long term debt from approximately $1.2 billion to approximately $128 million. Penn Virginia is an independent oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development, and production of oil, NGLs, and natural gas. The company’s operations are focused on oilfields primarily in the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas, with additional properties in the Granite Wash in Oklahoma and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. In 2017, the Turnaround Management Association recognized the successful Penn Virginia restructuring with its “Mid-Size Company Transaction of the Year Award.”
Represented Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation and its subsidiaries, an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil, primarily in the States of West Virginia and Ohio, in its Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
Represented Texas-based Dex Media, Inc., and its affiliates and subsidiaries, a leading international media and marketing company with approximately $2.5 billion of funded debt obligations, in their Chapter 11 cases.
Represented Midstates Petroleum Company, Inc., an independent exploration and production company, in a series of transactions to increase its liquidity. The transactions included a private offering of $625 million of senior secured second lien notes, an exchange of existing unsecured senior notes for approximately $504 million of senior secured third lien notes, and an amendment to its existing revolving credit facility to allow for the senior secured second lien notes issuance, the exchange transaction and to provide additional covenant flexibility.
Prior Experience
Summer Associate, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, NY, 2013
Paralegal, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, 2008–2011
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Recognition
Memberships & Affiliations
International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation
Treasurer, Junior Board, Foundation for Education in Honduras
NYU School of Law Strategic Planning Committee, 2015–2016
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- 2015New York
Courts
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Education
- New York University School of LawJ.D.2014
Executive Editor, New York University Law Review
- Brandeis UniversityB.A., Politicsmagna cum laude2007