Christopher M. Pavlovich

WeWork, Inc.: Representing 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. WeWork is prosecuting its Chapter 11 cases pursuant to a restructuring support agreement with holders representing approximately 96% of its secured notes and 100% of its secured letter of credit facility obligations. The agreement provides for the elimination of approximately $3 billion of WeWork’s funded debt and allows WeWork to rationalize its global commercial lease portfolio by rejecting unprofitable locations while reinvesting in its trophy properties.

Prima® Wawona: Representing Prima® Wawona and certain of its affiliates (“Prima®”) in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. As the largest producer of stone fruit in the United States, Prima® farms is approximately 18,000 acres of peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots and various other stone fruits across the San Joaquin Valley in California. Headquartered in Fresno, California, Prima® entered Chapter 11 with approximately $679 million in funded debt and approximately $1 billion in total debt as of the petition date. Prima® will use its time in Chapter 11 to pursue one or more value-maximizing sale transactions.

QualTek Services Inc.: Representation of QualTek Services Inc. and its subsidiaries in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. QualTek is a provider of infrastructure services and renewable energy project solutions to the North American telecommunications and power industries. With Kirkland’s assistance, QualTek’s fully consensual comprehensive restructuring will reduce the company’s total debt by nearly half, from approximately $625 million to approximately $318 million, substantially increase QualTek’s cash on hand, and strengthen its liquidity position.

Talen Energy Supply, LLC: Represented an ad hoc group of unsecured noteholders (the “Ad Hoc Group”) in the Chapter 11 cases of Talen Energy Supply, LLC and its affiliated debtors (“Talen”) in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Talen is one of the largest competitive power generation companies in North America, with a generation portfolio consisting of 18 facilities that are collectively capable of producing approximately 13,000 megawatts of power. Talen filed for Chapter 11 relief on May 9, 2022 to restructure its approximately $4.5 billion of funded debt obligations. On May 17, 2023, Talen successfully consummated its Chapter 11 plan of reorganization and emerged from Chapter 11, following a $1.4 billion new-money recapitalization led by the Ad Hoc Group, whereby Talen’s balance sheet was deleveraged by approximately $2.7 billion and the Ad Hoc Group emerged as the new majority equity owners of reorganized Talen.

Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc.: Representing Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. and 73 of its affiliates in their Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. Bed Bath & Beyond is the largest home goods retailer in the United States, offering everything from bed linens to cookware to home organization, baby care, and more. Bed Bath & Beyond operates hundreds of stores and employs approximately 14,000 people across North America. Through its Chapter 11 case, Bed Bath & Beyond will conduct an orderly and value-maximizing wind down of its business, while simultaneously marketing a sale of all or part of the business. Prior to the Chapter 11 filing, advised Bed Bath & Beyond on a series of complex transactions, including an underwritten public offering for up to $1 billion in proceeds and a concurrent significant amendment of its credit agreement to decelerate the debt, waive certain defaults, and upsize the FILO facility by $100 million.

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.

Seadrill Limited (Second Restructuring): Representation of Seadrill Limited and certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries in their multi-jurisdictional restructuring of approximately $6.1 billion of funded debt. Seadrill is a leading global provider of offshore contract drilling services and employs nearly 3,100 individuals across 15 countries and five continents. Seadrill's Chapter 11 cases, one of the largest filings of 2021, equitized approximately $4.9 billion of secured debt across twelve silos and facilitated a capital investment of $350 million, enabling Seadrill to continue to operate its modern fleet of drilling units.

Belk, Inc.: Representation of Belk, Inc. and certain of its affiliates in the fastest-ever in-court restructuring transaction. Belk emerged from Chapter 11 on February 24, 2021, just 21 hours after filing for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Belk, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the nation’s largest private department store chain with 291 stores located throughout the southeastern United States. Pursuant to the prepackaged Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, Belk will keep all of its store locations open and pay all suppliers, landlords, and its 17,000 employees in full. As a result of the restructuring, Belk received $225 million of new capital and reduced its debt load by approximately $450 million.