Brian J. Nakhaimousa

Franchise Group — Representation of Franchise Group, owner and operator of franchised and franchisable businesses, in connection with its Chapter 11 restructuring. Following months of litigation, Kirkland was retained and helped Franchise Group secure a global settlement with its key stakeholders to delever its balance sheet by more than $2.4 billion and emerge from Chapter 11 with a deleveraged capital structure, enhanced liquidity, and a strengthened and simplified business model. In addition to confirming a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, Franchise Group successfully completed a value-maximizing sale of its Vitamin Shoppe business segment.

Vertex Energy, Inc. — Representation of Vertex Energy, Inc. (VTNR) and 23 of its subsidiaries (Vertex) in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Vertex is a leading energy transition company and marketer of high-quality refined products. Vertex filed for Chapter 11 with a restructuring support agreement (RSA) that is supported by 100% of the company’s term loan lenders. The RSA and related Chapter 11 plan provide for a recapitalization of the business through a debt-for-equity exchange or a sale of all or substantially all of the debtors’ assets. Vertex commenced its Chapter 11 cases with a $280 million debtor-in-possession financing facility and a commitment from the Company’s intermediation counterparty to continue performing under Vertex’s critical intermediation facility.

Appgate, Inc. — Representation of Appgate, Inc. (APGT) and 11 of its subsidiaries (Appgate) in their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Appgate is an industry leader in secure network access, providing an innovative suite of cybersecurity solutions and advisory services to more than 660 leading private enterprises and government agencies around the world. Pursuant to Appgate’s confirmed Chapter 11 plan, Appgate obtained $18 million in additional liquidity, emerged as a private company, and was able to quickly address its unsustainable debt load by entirely deleveraging its balance sheet.

WeWork, Inc. — Representation of WeWork, Inc. and its debtor affiliates — the leading global flexible space provider — in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. With approximately $17 billion in funded debt and lease obligations at the time of filing and posing complex, novel issues of international, regulatory and foreign law, WeWork, with over 500 entities, is one of the largest jointly administered Chapter 11 cases in history. Through its Chapter 11 cases, WeWork was able to equitize all $4.3 billion of its funded indebtedness, right size its lease portfolio and reduce future obligations by $11 billion as the result of a pioneering strategy for rent negotiations, facilitate a global settlement with numerous stakeholders and navigate complex cross-border issues.

Cyxtera Technologies Inc. — Representation of Cyxtera Technologies Inc. (CYTX) and its affiliates (Cyxtera) in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. Cyxtera is a Nasdaq-traded global leader in data center colocation and interconnection services, providing an innovative suite of connected and intelligently-automated infrastructure and interconnection solutions to more than 2,300 leading enterprises, service providers, and government agencies around the world. Cyxtera filed for Chapter 11 protection in June 2023 with over $1 billion in funded debt obligations and over $1 billion in long-term lease obligations to pursue a sale transaction and/or a recapitalization transaction as contemplated under a Restructuring Support Agreement supported by a supermajority of its existing first lien lenders. Cyxtera also filed with a $200 million committed DIP financing facility provided by certain of its first lien lenders.

Avaya Holdings Corp. — Representation of Avaya Holdings Corp. and its affiliates in their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Avaya Holdings Corp., (Avaya) is a global leader in solutions to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration. With overwhelming consensus from Avaya’s secured lenders and the support of its other key stakeholders, Avaya confirmed its prepackaged plan of reorganization just over a month after it commenced its Chapter 11 cases. The confirmed prepackaged plan reduced Avaya’s total debt by more than 75%, from approximately $3.4 billion to approximately $810 million, substantially increased Avaya’s liquidity position to approximately $650 million, decreased its net leverage to less than 1x, and provided substantial financial flexibility to accelerate Avaya’s investment in its innovative cloud-based communications portfolio. Avaya emerged from Chapter 11 protection as a privately held company approximately five weeks after the bankruptcy court confirmed Avaya’s prepackaged plan.

West Marine, Inc. — Representation of West Marine, Inc. and its affiliates, the nation’s leading omnichannel provider in the marine aftermarket, in multiple transactions, including a comprehensive out-of-court restructuring of its existing capital structure supported by 100 percent of the Company’s existing lenders and its equity sponsor. The comprehensive transaction delevered the Company’s funded indebtedness by more than $500 million, provided the Company access to $125 million of new money term loan financing, and left trade claims unimpaired.

BlockFi — Representation of BlockFi Inc. and certain of its subsidiaries (BlockFi) in their Chapter 11 cases in the District of New Jersey. BlockFi is an industry-leading provider of cryptocurrency related products and , allowing its retail and institutional clients access to liquidity, yield, and credit. Following disruption in the cryptocurrency industry, BlockFi commenced Chapter 11 to stabilize its business and provide for the opportunity to consummate a comprehensive restructuring transaction that maximizes value for its clients and stakeholders.

Altera Infrastructure L.P. — Representation of Altera Infrastructure L.P. and certain of its affiliates (Altera), a leading international midstream services provider to the oil and gas industry, in pre-arranged Chapter 11 cases filed in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Operating a fleet of 41 vessels, Altera supplies critical infrastructure assets to its customers primarily in offshore regions of the North Sea, Brazil, and the East Coast of Canada. Altera filed for Chapter 11 with a restructuring support agreement (RSA) that is widely supported by Altera’s equity sponsor, Brookfield, and a super-majority of its bank lenders. The RSA contemplates, among other things, addressing more than $1 billion of secured and unsecured holding company debt, $400 million of preferred equity, and $550 million of secured asset-level bank debt, and a comprehensive reprofiling of Altera’s bank loan facilities to better align cash flow with debt service obligations.

PSS Industrial Group — Representation of Prowler Super Holding Corp. and its subsidiaries (PSS Industrial Group), an oilfield services provider and value-added distributor in the energy and industrial industries, in connection with its out-of-court restructuring, including a complete deleveraging of over $320 million in funded debt through a UCC Article 9 foreclosure and a $55 million new money equity rights offering to fund future business growth. The consummated transaction contemplates payment in full of all vendors, suppliers and other business partners and uninterrupted fulfillment of all customer obligations. 

Intelsat S.A. — Representation of Intelsat S.A. and its debtor-affiliates—operator of the world’s largest satellite fleet and connectivity infrastructure—in connection with their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. With approximately $15 billion in liabilities at the time of filing, and posing complex intercompany issues and novel issues of regulatory and foreign law, Intelsat was one of the largest and most complex restructurings of 2020 and 2021. Intelsat filed with $1 billion in committed DIP financing, which it subsequently refinanced and expanded up to $1.5 billion during its Chapter 11 cases. During their Chapter 11 cases, Intelsat purchased Gogo Inc.’s commercial aviation business, including its software platform and network management infrastructure, for approximately $400 million in a relatively unprecedented transaction for a Chapter 11 debtor. After extensive multiparty and cross-silo negotiations and successful mediation efforts, Intelsat obtained confirmation of its plan of reorganization on a fully-consensual basis and emerged from Chapter 11 with nearly $7 billion in new exit financing and a deleveraged capital structure.

Frontera Generation Holdings LLC — Representation of Frontera Generation Holdings LLC and five of its affiliates in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Frontera owns and operates the only U.S.-based power plant that sells all of its 526MW/year power production to the Mexican wholesale market. The restructuring, which had nearly-universal lender support, enabled Frontera to obtain $70 million of new liquidity through a DIP-to-exit facility, slash more than $850 million of its $944 million debt load, and pay its trade claims in full.