Ashley L. Surinak

Venator Materials PLC: Representation of Venator Materials PLC and its affiliates (together, “Venator”) in their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Venator, which is an NYSE-listed Public Limited Company organized under the laws of England and Wales, is a global manufacturer of pigments and additives that bring color, vibrancy, and a sustainable finish to a variety of objects and for a variety of uses and has over $1.1 billion in total funded debt obligations. Venator filed for Chapter 11 with a restructuring support agreement supported by holders of 94% in principal of its total funded debt obligations and $275 million in new-money postpetition DIP financing. Venator’s Chapter 11 plan was confirmed approximately 70 days after the filing.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.: Advised Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. on a series of complex financing transactions, including an underwritten public offering of equity derivatives securities providing initial gross proceeds of approximately $225 million and an additional $800 million of gross proceeds in future installments (subject to certain conditions) and a concurrent significant amendment of Bed Bath & Beyond’s credit agreement to provide for a rescission of an existing acceleration and waiver of certain defaults thereunder and the upsize of a FILO facility by $100 million.

Nielsen & Bainbridge, LLC: Representation of Nielsen & Bainbridge, LLC (d/b/a NBG Home) and 13 of its affiliates in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. NBG Home is a trusted wholesale supplier of home décor and other home goods to prominent brick-and-mortar and online retailers such as Walmart, Target, and Amazon. NBG Home filed for Chapter 11 with a restructuring support agreement in place, supported by the majority of its secured creditors, that contemplates a $60 million DIP facility and an exchange of 100% of the equity of the reorganized company, subject to higher and better proposals. The proposed restructuring will preserve over 700 jobs and address nearly $400 million of secured debt.

Dunn Paper Holdings, LLC: Representation of Dunn Paper Holdings, LLC and its affiliates and subsidiaries in connection with an out-of-court restructuring by which an ad hoc group of first lien lenders, comprising all of the company’s approximately $380 million of funded debt, consensually foreclosed upon substantially all of Dunn’s assets and assumed majority ownership of the Company.

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.  

Seadrill New Finance Limited: Representation of Seadrill New Finance Limited and 11 of its affiliates (together, the “NSNCo Group”), the fourth group of Seadrill Limited entities to undergo a restructuring, in their one-day prepackaged Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The NSNCo Group utilized Chapter 11 to implement an amend-and-extend of approximately $622 million in senior secured notes and transfer majority ownership of NSNCo from the wider Seadrill Limited group to Seadrill’s secured noteholders. The NSNCo Group’s reorganization plan was confirmed within one day of the filing of the Chapter 11 cases. 

Premiere Global Services, Inc.: Representation of Premiere Global Services, Inc. and its affiliates and subsidiaries in connection with an out-of-court restructuring by which PGi’s first lien lenders consensually foreclosed upon and sold the equity of Premiere Global Services, Inc. to a third-party buyer. The transaction resulted in mutual releases between the Company’s’ first lien lenders and the Company and related parties and an incremental financing commitment from the Company’s first lien lenders. 

Gulfport Energy Corporation: Representation of Gulfport Energy Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries in their prearranged Chapter 11 restructuring in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Gulfport is an independent returns-oriented, gas-weighted exploration and development company and one of the largest producers of natural gas in the contiguous United States, with significant acreage positions in Ohio and Oklahoma. Gulfport entered Chapter 11 with a restructuring support agreement signed by prepetition revolving credit facility lenders holding over 95% of its revolving debt obligations and noteholders holding over 70% of its senior unsecured notes. The restructuring support agreement proposes eliminating approximately $1.25 billion in funded debt obligations, provides for a $262.5 million DIP facility and $580 million in committed exit financing, and contemplates a backstopped rights offering for at least $50 million of preferred equity.  

FTS International, Inc.: Representation of FTSI and its affiliates in their prepackaged Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. FTSI, a publicly-traded company, is one of the largest providers of hydraulic fracturing services in North America and provides customized hydraulic fracturing solutions to exploration and production companies to enhance recovery rates from oil and gas wells drilled in the most active basins in the United States. FTSI commenced its Chapter 11 cases with a restructuring support agreement with over 87% of the holders of the company’s funded secured debt. If the company’s prepackaged Chapter 11 plan is approved, holders of approximately $440 million of funded secured debt will exchange their debt claims for over 90% of the equity in the reorganized debtors, holders of FTSI’s existing equity will receive approximately 10% of the equity in the reorganized debtors, and all ongoing business trade claims will ride through the bankruptcy unimpaired.

Tailored Brands, Inc.: Representation of Tailored Brands, Inc. and its 17 affiliates in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases. Tailored Brands, a leading specialty retailer of men’s tailored clothing and the largest men’s formalwear provider in the United States and Canada, operates approximately 1,400 stores and employs over 18,000 people across its omni-channel network of five retail brands (Men’s Wearhouse, Men’s Wearhouse and Tux, Jos. A. Bank, K&G, and Moores). Tailored Brands commenced its Chapter 11 cases with broad support from its secured lenders, evidenced by a Restructuring Support Agreement that contemplates a reduction in funded indebtedness by $455 million to $555 million, a $500 million DIP ABL facility to finance the Chapter 11 cases, and committed exit financing that will ensure the company has sufficient liquidity to support its operations following emergence from Chapter 11.

Ascena Retail Group, Inc.: Representation of Ascena Retail Group, Inc. and its affiliates in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Eastern District of Virginia. At the time of its filing, Ascena was a leading specialty retailer for women and girls fora collective of seven brands, including Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lou & Grey, Lane Bryant, Cacique, Catherines, and Justice, and over 2,800 stores, approximately 37,000 employees, and $1.6 billion in funded debt. Ascena entered Chapter 11 with a restructuring support agreement designed to preserve its going concern business and allowed it to engage in a marketing process that resulted in a sale of Catherines’ assets for $40.8 million, Justice assets for $71 million, and the Lane Bryant and Premium Brands’ assets, including Ann Taylor, LOFT, and Lou & Grey, for $540 million. Ascena ultimately confirmed its Chapter 11 plan with the support of its term lenders and general unsecured creditors.

PGX Holdings, Inc.: Representation of PGX Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“PGX”), a leading credit-repair service provider, in an out-of-court restructuring transaction that extended the maturity of PGX’s funded debt by three years, raised new capital, and maintained the equity stake of its sponsor. This amend-and-extend transaction was executed with 100% lender consent and will give PGX runway to navigate uncertainties concerning general macroeconomic trends and ongoing high-stakes litigation.

Sheridan Holding Company I, LLC: Representation of Sheridan Holding Company I, LLC and certain affiliates in the first one-day Chapter 11 case in Texas history in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sheridan I obtained confirmation of its prepackaged Chapter 11 plan of reorganization by video conference on March 24, 2020, one day after Sheridan I filed for Chapter 11. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Sheridan I is the first of three series of Sheridan oil and natural gas investment funds. Sheridan I’s prepackaged equitization restructuring eliminated approximately $470 million of funded debt and left general unsecured creditors unimpaired.